Description
This Russian River Valley Estate Pinot Noir has an intense aromatic profile that begins with equal parts bright fruit (dark cherry, tart rhubarb, floral violets) and savory elements of cola, cardamom and coffee. Then, there’s a touch of dark toast and forest-floor earthliness that round out the aromas and give it extra depth. The smells are complex and ever-changing in the glass over time. In the mouth, the brambly fruit aromas reappear and are surrounded by a perfect viscosity that has plenty of weight without going over the top. A crisp acidity keeps the wine lively and intertwines nicely with the structure. It’s full across the palate with fine, coco-like tannins and a nice dose of astringency that lends additional grip and structure to this wine. Overall, the wine has struck the fine balance between delicate and structured, and will improve with bottle aging during the next three to five years (or more). It is undeniably Pinot Noir grown and made to be distinct, elegant and delicious. Winemaker Notes: To make our Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, we ferment each lot of grapes separately in three to six ton batches. We do not add commercial yeast to the tanks and instead rely on the natural yeasts found on the grapes and through- out the winery to ferment the juice. This process tends to increase the length of the fermentation and add an additional layer of complexity to the finished wine. During fermentation and barrel aging, we treat the new wine as gently as possible in an effort to preserve its aroma. The separate wine lots were racked from barrel with minimal oxygen contact for blending in early April, then sent back to barrel for three months before bottling. We utilize the least amount of new oak necessary to lend structure to the wine while not overpowering the more delicate aromas with heavy oak tones. To accomplish this, the wine was aged in 100 percent French oak (with 33 per- cent new barrels) for 9 months. The resulting wine is balanced and finessed.
