From its vibrant ruby-red color to its alluring aromas of raspberry, plum, baking spice and a dust of oak, this is a bright and enticing expression of Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. On the palate, firm, velvety tannins underscore generous layers of berry fruit that glide to a long, lush finish!
The fruit was picked as whole clusters and brought to the winery in half-ton Macro Bins. It was then hand-sorted and gently destemmed into our 1-ton Super T fermenters. The skins of the fruit were punched down twice a day during fermentation to achieve maximum color and flavor extraction, with minimal harsh tannins from the seeds. When primary fermentation was complete, the wine was pressed from the skins into French oak barrels from a variety of different cooperages, 33% of which were new, and 22% one-year-old. The final blend was assembled just prior to bottling, which occurred August 16, 2018.
The 2017 vintage followed a cool wet winter. The soils were wet and rich which required extra meticulous care with cover crop management and canopy management. There was a heat spike at the end of August that prompted an early pick of Thale’s Vineyard, a warmer site than Wohler and Manzana, which, being cooler sites, were able to hang longer. The fruit was hand-harvested on separate days for each vineyard: Thale’s September 2, Manzana September 10 and Wohler October 2, 2017. The three distinct harvest dates reflect the individual nature of each site and what each lends to the complexity of this wine.
This wine displays the complex, concentrated and fruit-driven style of Pinot Noir that exemplifies the Russian River Valley. To craft this wine, we work with a handful of top vineyards including our own Thale’s Estate Vineyard in the Middle Reach of Russian River Valley. The blend also includes fruit from the Dutton family’s Manzana property, which is in the cool Green Valley region, and grapes from Wohler Ranch along River Road.
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