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Black Cap Winery |
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The Black Cap Pinot noir expresses the elusive, mysterious, cult-creating qualities of the Pinot noir grape, and reflects a very deep knowledge of winemaking. Jason Lett's “Indie Pinot” Black Cap is housed within his family’s Eyrie Vineyards winery. The last four vintages have created a stir—requests for Black Cap that last months after the wine is gone. The Black Cap Pinot is one of those rare Oregon Pinot noirs made with the purpose of expressing the character of the Pinot grape, and of the particular Pinot of the vineyard site. It is made from one small block of the oldest fruit in Eyrie's vineyard. Jason's dedication to allowing the terroir of these old vines to show through is expressed in the pure, classic style of this wine. Sophisticated, sensuous, and complete. BlackCap was named for two native (and tasty) species of Oregon plants- the Black capped Morel and the Black cap raspberry. The name also belongs to a native songbird, the black capped Chickadee. Jason Lett has been involved in making wine for most of Oregon's vintages through his family's Eyrie Vineyards. Jason's father, David Lett, is one of Oregon's wine industry pioneers. He planted and popularized Pinot gris, and received high scores for his early Pinot noirs from blind tastings in France, leading to the initial recognition of Oregon as a viable wine growing region. Having grown up working in his family's vineyards and winery, Jason gained a unique perspective on growing and making wine. Jason explains: "my father's holistic approach to wine growing has been my greatest influence. He has always emphasized that great wine is made in the vineyard." Jason added to the lessons learned from his family's vineyards by spending summers in his teen years working and living in Burgundy, and visiting family friends who grew wine in Germany and Switzerland. Later, while in his 20's, Jason worked harvest at New Zealand's Matrinborough Vineyards. In 2002, longtime friend John Davidson invited Jason to make wine from Davidson's La Cantera vineyard. The resulting wine became Jason's first solo vintage, the Black Cap 2002. In keeping with Jason's philosophy, the project was kept small (3 barrels) and meticulously tended. Jason says: "For me, making wine is the ultimate way to explore the concept of 'tasting place.' My intention is to express the vineyard as fully as possible. I'm doing that by using traditional tools- cool, small batch fermentations, extended macerations, native yeasts, and bottling without fining or filtration. I also use a very moderate amount of new oak - taking the Burgundian approach to oak that was traditional until the last 15 years or so. When you taste the Black Cap my hope is that you will taste an expression of place and a vintage, without the pretensions of a winemaker getting in the way. I'm proud to be a winegrower." In 2006, Jason started taking over the winemaking and vineyard management of his family's winery. With his father's passing in 2008, Jason is now the head of Eyrie Vineyards. "Making wine from fruit you've grown closes the circle," says Jason. "An intimate knowledge of the vineyard in influences how finesse the wine, and what you learn from the wine guides the management of the vineyard." Jason and his wife Diane live on a small farm near McMinnville with their 2 girls. In his spare time, Jason stays busy with the kids, the animals and the garden. Jason's Wines
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