2006 Pinot Noir, Carneros

Price: $30.00
Qty.  

ORIGIN:  The grapes for this Pinot Noir came from four excellent vineyards on both the Sonoma and Napa sides of Carneros, including Alta Vista, Beau Terroir, and Beresini.  Our Wildcat Mountain Estate Vineyard, high up in the hills on the extreme southwestern edge of the Carneros AVA, continues to play a significant role in the blend.  Wildcat’s influence can be seen in the dark color, full body and overall complexity of the wine.

VINEYARD NOTES:  Yields were low, averaging 3 tons per acre. However, the yields at Wildcat (which is always stingy with its exceptional fruit) were even lower. The long, cool growing season was quite protracted, which is exactly the way we like it, as longer hangtime leads to richer, more fully developed flavors in both the grapes and the resulting wine. All of the Pinot vineyards ripened at a similar pace, and were picked by hand in a very busy two-week period between September 20 and October 3, 2006.

WINEMAKING NOTES:  All of the grapes were destemmed into open-top fermenters.  Following a three-day cold soak to boost color without increasing tannins, the tanks were inoculated with yeast.  The caps were managed with a combination of punchdowns and pumpovers to maximize positive extraction, and the must was gently pressed when dry. The resulting wines were aged in French oak barrels, 30 percent of which were new, for ten months, with a single gentle racking under inert gas to assemble the blend in late March.  Bottling took place from August 8 through 10, 2007.

TASTING NOTES:  This wine is very dark garnet in color, and the nose shows bright black cherry with a bit of allspice.  Full-bodied, velvety and luscious, the palate delivers all the ripe fruit promised by the nose, with just enough toasty vanilla oak to provide a soft supporting framework.  It concludes with a long, lush finish.

This vintage produced 5091 (750ml) cases.

Tasting Notes pdf

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