Tasting Notes

Release Date: Fall 2007

At present, this Pinot Noir is a very modern California—styled vintage. Rich, forward and immediately appealing, this vintage is atypical for us as our Pinots are usually more Burgundian in profile.

The 2004 vintage throughout California was an early harvest with big ripeness as a hallmark. Fermented using wild yeast, this wine goes through full malolactic fermentation in the barrel. Aged in new French oak for eleven months without any racking, fining or filtration, it is a perfect juxtaposition— at one point classic and at another modern. That being said, it is a delicious wine—albeit a bit precocious.

Expect excellent bottle development over the next five to seven years and a drinking plateau through 2020.

Production

609

Tech Notes

Yield: 1.3 tons per acre Harvest: August 16th - 30th Numbers @ Harvest: 24.0 Brix, 3.6 pH, 7.0 grams acidity Barrel Regimen: Burgundy 100% new; aged 11 months Bottling: September 2005; no fining or filtration

Reviews

92 points Robert Parker Jr's The Wine Advocate - December 2007

Issue # 174

The 2004 Pinot Noir Estate exhibits a dark ruby hue along with a brilliantly expressive nose of forest floor, sweet cherries and raspberries, and notions of background oak as well as earth.  Medium-bodied with excellent purity and a good acidity, it is a French-styled Pinot  that resembles a premier cru Chambolle-Musigny or Vosne-Romanee.  Accessible now it should be even better with 2-4 years of cellaring, and last for 10-15 years.

90 points Wine Spectator  - March 2008

Fragrant wilted rose petal, cherry and blackberry notes are spicy and delicate, with a nice mineral and loamy earth aftertaste.  Complex in an elegant understated manner.  Drink now through 2012.

90 points Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar - November/December 2007

Fading garnet-red color.  Meaty red berries and cherry on the nose, with dried floral and musky underbrush adding complexity.  Medium in weight, with a gently chewy texture and sweet fruit flavors. Gains weight on the broad, sappy finish, which shows no obvious tannins.