The 2008 Pinot Noir Estate was picked from the vineyard’s deeper soils and was fermented with native yeasts and aged for 16 months in 33% new oak. Dark ruby red, it surrenders an expressive nose of smoke, Asian spices, incense, and an amalgam of red and black fruits. On the palate it reveals excellent volume, savory flavors, good intensity, and precision. Give this lengthy effort 1-2 years to fully unwind, and drink it from 2012 to 2020. Evening Land Vineyards is a group headed by movie magnate Mark Tarlov that also owns Pinot vineyards in the Sonoma Coast and Santa Rita Hills and is making wines in Burgundy. They gained control of one of the Willamette Valley’s prized properties, Seven Springs Vineyard, and created an immediate sensation by signing on Dominique Lafon of Comte Lafon in Burgundy as consulting winemaker. The Evening Land group is also making a major effort to restore the health and vitality of Seven Springs. The most recent development is the addition of renowned Master Sommelier Larry Stone as President and GM of the group in August 2010. Over the past 2-3 years there has been an awakening among some of the Willamette Valley’s most distinguished vignerons that their region is capable of producing world class Chardonnay. With Dominique Lafon and Larry Stone on board, there is no question that Evening Lands will be playing a starring role in this drama. There are now two serious Gamay producers in the Willamette Valley, Doug Tunnell of Brick House being the other. www.eveninglandvineyard.com