Pale to medium ruby-purple, the 2018 Pinot Noir Seven Springs Estate has gently broody scents of blackberries, earth, dried violets and herbs. The light to medium-bodied palate is soft, bright and spicy with earthy undertones and fresh acidic lift, finishing delicate and long.

Medium ruby-purple, the 2017 Pinot Noir Seven Springs Estate has aromas of crunchy cranberries, raspberries and blackberries with accents of fragrant earth, violets, peppercorn, saline and bitters. Medium-bodied and silky, it offers loads of ripe fruits tempered by earthy accents, with grainy tannins and sip-me-again acidity, finishing long. Grapes for this cuvée (Evening Land's largest at over 3,000 cases produced annually) were mostly destemmed and come from both older and younger vines.

The 2016 Pinot Noir Estate Seven Springs Vineyard is pale to medium ruby-purple in color with spicy and herbal accents on the nose over ripe black fruits and underbrush. Light to medium-bodied, it fills the mouth with ripe black cherries and currants, transitioning into tart, juicy acidity, with very soft, grainy tannins, finishing long with earthy and mineral accents. 2,600 cases produced.

The 2014 Pinot Noir Estate Seven Springs Vineyard, matured in around 15% new barrels (Hermitage cooperage), has a very attractive bouquet with blackberry, briary and a touch of undergrowth, perhaps from the judicious 10% whole cluster fruit. The palate is medium-bodied with fine definition, crisp and tensile tannin, quite linear in style and it feels tight on the bitter cherry and blackberry finish, but there is plenty of fruit here and it will expand when it is bottle.

The 2009 Pinot Noir Estate Seven Springs Vineyard received a similar elevage with the wine bottled without fining or filtration. Expressive aromas of sandalwood, exotic spices, violets, black cherry, and black raspberry inform the nose of a satin-textured, round, succulent, nicely proportioned wine that has exceptional concentration and depth for the vintage. It has enough structure to evolve for 1-2 years and should drink nicely through 2019. 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. Tel. (503) 395-2520; www.eveninglandvineyards.com