WTN: Seven Springs

Evening Land 2013 Eola-Amity Hills Pinot Noir, "Seven Springs." 13.0% abv, approximately $45 (on sale).

Back when Andrea and I last did a tasting tour in Oregon -- more than a decade ago now, I'm astonished to realize -- we consistently found ourselves gravitating to Pinots from the Seven Springs vineyard. I've found notes for wines from Penner-Ash and Torii Moi, but I'm sure there were others, probably St. Innocent and I don't remember who else, but as I recall, in every lineup we tasted, the wines from that vineyard stood out. I didn't really follow the subsequent fate of the vineyard, which I gather was complicated, but I know I stopped seeing "Seven Springs" Pinots for a while. A few months ago, though, I stumbled across this Evening Land bottling at a local shop, on sale no less, and decided to buy a few bottles. This is the first one we've opened.

Not an especially expressive nose on first opening, but it pretty quickly gets itself together. Earth, leather, roses, a midpalate of tart cherries and minerality, and a medium-long finish that shows some new wood, though it doesn't hit you over the head. I'm not sure this is built for significant aging, though it will be interesting to hold it for 5-8 years to see how the wood integrates (or doesn't), but it's very nice now -- nicely balanced, focused, elegant, and very characteristic of Oregon Pinot -- or at least, of the style of Oregon Pinot on which I first imprinted, and which still serves as a paradigm for me -- like an ethereal barefoot walk through a damp forest. Excellent.

I bought 4 bottles of St. Innocent "Seven Springs" PN 2002 many years ago and have been terribly disappointed with all of them. I have one bottle left and may try it soon. All were very tart but recieved "big" scores from Pierre Rovani of the Wine Advocate.

Evening Land is one of the better producers of quality pinot in Oregon IMHO. Nice to see you drinking well. It's been a long time since we last saw you in Berkeley if I remember correctly.

Nice to see you around here too, Lou -- it's been at least 10 or 12 years, I think, since I last saw you in Berkeley, down on Fourth Street somewhere for an offline, I think. I hope you're well!

Nice to see you around here too, Lou -- it's been at least 10 or 12 years, I think, since I last saw you in Berkeley, down on Fourth Street somewhere for an offline, I think. I hope you're well!

Correct, Fourth St. Wasn't Jason Brandt Lewis there that night? Last time I saw Rahsaan was also Berkeley.

Last time I saw Rahsaan was also Berkeley.

Time flies and paths diverge. But didn't I also see you around 2010 in Nyc at one of Levi's orange wine dinners? Or am I mixing things up. (I remember the concept of the dinner well, because my son had been born the week before, so it was a pleasant surprise that I could attend, but after that the particulars are a bit hazy)

Your memory is better than mine, we were at the event you mention.

[Jenise]

Patchen, the owner of the Seven Springs vineyard died suddenly and too young of cancer, and her kids put the vineyard on the block. Mark Vlossak of St. Innocent who'd done such wonders with that fruit wanted it badly, but he was outbid by a famous Burgundy producer (I'm stuck on which one now--want to say it's an 'L' word) who wanted an American opportunity. Hence, Evening Land--not sure what anyone else thinks of the name but I have to opine that it sounds more like an air freshener than a classy American winery to my ear.

Jim, the 02 vintage was indeed an exceptional one for St. Innocent. I bought a case and still have a few, and they've all been great. I have to wonder if you somehow got a bad lot, or drank them during the 4th-to-8th years when they typically went into a long sleep. A bottle opened at the wrong time would, indeed, be overly tart. (FWIW: 02 was, I think, also the first vintage for the Anden vineyeard: Seven Springs was divided into two vineyards, one old vines and one newer, and Anden was the name given to the other half. 02 Seven Springs, therefore, did not have the exact same fruit as previous vintages.)

The French winemaker was Lafon, but the money came from a Hollywood guy.

The way I was told (if I remember correctly) was that 7 Springs and Anden were split due to a divorce. Then when one of the couple became ill, a couple of wineries (St Innocent was one) did a lot of extra vineyard work to help out. Then when she died, kids sold both Anden and Seven Springs to the Hollywood/Burg group (so now Anden is back within 7 Springs). But a lot of local resentment due to circumstances, they felt Vlossak and others had both built rep of vineyard and gone extra mile to help family.
Again, that's just what I was told.

Thanks for the story, Jenise & Dale. Sounds sad on a lot of levels.

I wonder whether the "Evening Land" name is supposed to refer to the westerliness of the property relative to Europe (evening land/Occident/Abendland, etc.)?

As far as air fresheners go, a quick check on Amazon reveals that Glade sells air fresheners in scents called "Pure Vanilla Joy" and "Cashmere Woods," either of which, now that you mention it, could be a brand name for certain wines, though not this one, thank god.

[Jenise]

Dale probably has the real story about the split--what I know was perhaps the lipstick on the pig that SI told subscribers to their club at the time. Or maybe both are equally true--just depends on motivation which explanation you'll get. Dale's also correct about the resentment in the Valley over Mark not being the buyer. Not sure Evening Land has ever been forgiven.

I've actually not yet had the Evening Land Seven Springs yet--but they've done some interesting things with gamay noir and I bought a case of their basic '11 pinot when it could be snatched up for $15 ea.

Appropos of nothing, my favorite St. Innocent vineyard these days is the Momtazi.

I've only had their 08 gamay which I enjoyed at first (2009) but then it turned ponderous (by 2010). I think I have a few bottles left so it might be worth seeing what has happened with them.

Thanks for the heads up on Momtazi, Jenise. We're much lacking in St I over here.

[Jenise]

Momtazi's an interesting vineyard, and a myriad of different producers are working with the fruit to varied results because the site itself has a lot of elevations and pockets. I had Joe Dobbes' version two few weeks ago, and his explanation of the differences reminded me of the Bien Nacido vineyard in Santa Rita Hills, which is only X wide but a mile or so long and planted to various clones, so there was no one definitive way to identify BN fruit.

I like the SI 'Momtazi', too.

Momtazi's an interesting vineyard, and a myriad of different producers are working with the fruit to varied results because the site itself has a lot of elevations and pockets. ...

I visited Maysara winery last summer, located at the Momtazi vineyard, which it owns. I was really impressed with their operation, which I believe is biodynamic, and I loved their wines, made with Momtazi grapes. The different bottlings, if I recall correctly, are made from different parcels reflecting differences within the vineyard itself, as you note. I haven't had other producers' Momtazi bottlings, but it sounds like it would be fun to compare and contrast.

[Jenise]

Bruce, cool. I haven't posted my Dobbes tasting notes yet, but here's what Joe said about Momtazi grapes: "known for more structure, more tannins and color, low crop levels, most expensive grapes we buy". They sell to about 12 different producers.

I guess I'll be on the lookout for Momtazi Vyd bottlings. I see that a branch of the local emporium has a '13 Kelley Fox Momtazi, maybe I'll start there! Learning a lot from this, thanks.

[Jenise]

I guess I'll be on the lookout for Momtazi Vyd bottlings. I see that a branch of the local emporium has a '13 Kelley Fox Momtazi, maybe I'll start there! Learning a lot from this, thanks.

Good choice--I also have a bottle of that standing by.

When I commented on my preference for the St. Innocent Pinot Noir from Freedom Hill Vineyard over Momtazi Vineyard (which seemed heavy to me) and another vineyard at a St. Innocent wine dinner, Hoke stated that the Momtazi takes the longest to come around due to its structure so your comments back that up.

[Jenise]

When I commented on my preference for the St. Innocent Pinot Noir from Freedom Hill Vineyard over Momtazi Vineyard (which seemed heavy to me) and another vineyard at a St. Innocent wine dinner, Hoke stated that the Momtazi takes the longest to come around due to its structure so your comments back that up.

It was certainly the heaviest of the three '12 Joe Dobbes poured for us (separate tasting note posted yesterday). Big and age-worthy in a manner not unlike Freedom Hill's output, actually. In his lineup, my favorite was a Symonette--a vineyard that's new to me. That said, the 09 and 11 St. Innocent Momtazis, which make up the rest of my experience with the vineyard, were not heavy wines. Just complex, and perhaps a bit more vegetal.