2016 Rodgers Creek

91 Points: Lisa Perrotti-Brown Wine Advocate - June 2018

“The 2016 Pinot Noir Rodgers Creek is pale to medium ruby-purple in color and delivers pronounced pomegranate, stewed rhubarb and crushed redcurrants scents with nuances of red roses, dusty soil and allspice plus a waft of bay leaves. Medium-bodied, the palate displays intense earth and red berry flavors with a fine-grained backbone and plenty of vivacity, thanks to the herbal lift on the finish.”

90 Points: Virginie Boone Wine Enthusiast - February 2019

“Smoky and reduced, this is a dense, tannic and boldly flavored wine, its flavors a mix of black tea, baked orange and red currant. Baking spice notes pierce the finish.”

The 2016 vintage started out with an early bud break followed by a warm growing season. Just when we were about to start picking we had a cool spell in late August. This helped slow things down and spread out the harvest. Our block of Rodgers Creek is planted to the Pommard clone. The grapes were harvested by hand in the cool early morning hours of September 7^th, 2016.

The grapes for this Pinot Noir came from a vineyard called Rodgers Creek, which is perched at an elevation of 1,000 feet overlooking the city of Petaluma. It lies near the Rodgers Fault, which it is named after. This rugged, west-facing site benefits from rocky volcanic soils, and the steady cooling winds that flow through the Petaluma Gap.

• composition:

  100% Pinot Noir

• alcohol: 14.1%
• cases made:

  5 Barrels
  146 Cases

• bottling date: 08/17/2017
• aging:

  Aged 10 months in French oak, 40% new

• fermentation:

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