2013 Thale's Vineyard 5L

The warm 2013 season provided ideal temperatures and growing conditions at Thale’s Vineyard. To counter the robust youthfulness of the vines, we thinned the crop to just 2 tons per acre. This ensured that the vines stayed healthy and strong while yielding a wine with rich tannin. The fruit for this blend was predominantly Clone 667 grapes from the vineyard’s prized Block B, with the remaining grapes being Clone 2A from Block A. Both blocks were picked on August 27th.

Located just off Westside Road, and surrounding our beautiful MacRostie EstateHouse, Thale’s Vineyard is situated in the far northern part of the Russian River Valley. Named after founder Steve MacRostie’s wife, Thale (pronounced Thay-lee), the vineyard’s14 acres of Pinot Noir feature four different clones: 667, Pommard, 23, and 2A. Predominantly planted in 2009, Thale’s Vineyard features both valley floor and hillside blocks. The site yields a rich and ripe expression of Pinot Noir with great color and rich tannin.

• composition:

  100% Pinot Noir

• alcohol: 14.6%
• bottling date: 02/23/2015
• aging:

  Aged 16 months in French oak, 50% new

• fermentation:

  Gently desteemed into open-top fermenters; three day cold soak; cap management included pump-overs & punch-downs