Lenne Estate with Proprietor Steve Lutz
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Walk the Lenn\\xe9 Estate Vineyard with Proprietor Steve Luz.
Special Thanks to Carl Giavanti
https://carlgiavanticonsulting.com
To hear Steve Lutz tell it, his vineyard sits on the poorest soil imaginable. \\u201cThe worst in the county,\\u201d he boasts with pride and bravado. That\\u2019s because the depleted ancient sedimentary soil, outside of Yamhill, OR. he believes, is the best in which to grow Pinot Noir grapes.
He produces six wines from those 21 acres, but first and foremost, Steve Lutz loves his dirt. \\u201cIt\\u2019s a pain to work with,\\u201d he says of his steep hillside vineyard called Lenn\\xe9, \\u201cbut it controls vigor and produces small clusters and berries.\\u201d With Pinot Noir, those are two integral factors to making really good, balanced wine.
Steve began making wine for himself in 1986 in Napa Valley which led him on a search 15 years later for the perfect Pinot Noir site in the Northern Willamette Valley. After an eight month search it only took 15 minutes when he climbed a steep hill 1 located outside the town of Yamhill, in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA. He made the deal within an hour, planted the vineyard in 2001 and determined, \\u201cThis is the perfect piece. It wasn\\u2019t even officially on the market when I looked at it. I just happened to know a friend of the friend of the land owner. It\\u2019s the luckiest thing that has ever happened to me. It\\u2019s a gem.\\u201d Though he likes to call himself a \\u201cminimalist\\u201d winemaker, it\\u2019s on this ground into which he puts the preponderance of work. \\u201cIt\\u2019s more than a passion, it\\u2019s a privilege,\\u201d to be working with this soil, he contends. And, \\u201cthe more work you do on a place, the more interested you are in it. To say, \\u2018This is what I do every day\\u2019, is a great thing to be able to do. I want other people to experience and understand that. This hillside gives my wines a certain aromatic quality and density, which spells terroir to me.\\u201d
With the 2014 vintage, Lenn\\xe9\\u2019s vines are reaching maturity to which leads Lutz to exclaim, \\u201cI\\u2019m more enamored with this site now because it\\u2019s getting some age; we have a good feel for the clones, and the type of wines they produce.\\u201d
So in 2005, after he tasted the first wines to come off this stressed vineyard from which he at first wasn\\u2019t sure would be viable, and after \\u201cjust writing checks which was tough on a marriage, I told my wife, \\u2018Don\\u2019t worry about it, everything\\u2019s going to work out.\\u2019\\u201d The Pinot Noir he recollects, tasted like chocolate black cherry; and that mocha-like taste has been a constant thread throughout all of Lenn\\xe9\\u2019s wines since.
Lenn\\xe9 ~ 18760 NE Laughlin Road, Yamhill, OR 97148 steve@lenneestate.com
503.256-9562
www.lenneestate.com
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