From its dense, rich color to its enticing aromas and succulent finish, our debut vintage of Nightwing Swan Clone Pinot Noir exudes harmony and depth. On the smooth, lush palate, generous dark plum flavors meld seamlessly with mesmerizing notes of potpourri, rich tobacco, and baking spices as it glides to a long, mouthwatering finish.
The fruit was gently destemmed into one small open-top fermenter using state-of-the-art equipment and procedures to avoid any pumping of the must. A three-day cold soak with daily pump-overs allowed us to extract color and tannin prior to fermentation. We then inoculated with select yeast strains that slowly built heat to produce aromatic compounds. In order to capture these compounds the fermentations were kept at cool temperatures. Wines were pressed off skins after a minimum fermentation of 14 days before being aged for 10 months in 100% one-year-old French oak barrels. The wine was bottled on August 9th, 2023.
The 2022 vintage was impacted by a third consecutive year of drought that resulted in a 10-30% reduction in yields. The growing season was temperate, which in grape growing means we were on track, or ahead of normal growth. Then we saw some heat spikes that prompted our first picks. 2022 was a year for vintage-to-vintage variation and differentiation between vineyards. Planted to respect the land’s natural topography and diverse soil types, Nightwing includes 24 blocks of Pinot Noir featuring 19 clones and six different rootstocks, with some blocks as small as 0.2 acres. To spotlight the profound differences between different block and clonal combinations, beginning in 2022 we created our Single Block, Single Clone Nightwing Pinot Noirs. This wine came exclusively from our 0.6-acre Block 16 Swan Clone planting, which yielded 1.85 tons per acre in 2022. It was harvested by hand at night on August 19th, at 26° Brix.
Nightwing Vineyard was planted in 2018 and is named after the indigenous nocturnal birds that keep a watchful eye on the land. The name is also a nod to the original guardian of the property, Vernon Morelli, a former WWII pilot who built a landing strip amid the vineyard. Located in the acclaimed Petaluma Gap AVA, Nightwing Vineyard is perched at 1,200 feet above sea level, where it basks in cool ocean winds and long, sunny days.
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