Tasting Notes

Release Date: Fall 2003

Pinot noir is all about small.

My wife Ellie and I were just up in Oregon at their annual Pinot Noir Extravaganza tasting dozens of Pinot Noirs from all over the planet. The best wines by far were made in small lots. The peculiar nature of the grape Pinot Noir is such that it is sensitive, unforgiving and intolerant of being blended with a variety of sources. Mount Eden has been making Pinot Noir as an estate longer than anyone on this continent and we still produce only 350 cases. Small is where it's at.

What you get from this vintage is an impression of sweetness. Not sweetness from residual sugar but rather from beautifully ripened fruit that generosity, purity of character, and place impart.

The growing season was punctuated by occasional storms that slowed the progress of the vineyards allowing the delicate Pinot to ripen slowly. Fermented in our open top tanks and aged in Burgundy barrels for a mere twelve months, this 2000 is an exceptional vintage for this estate. Symmetry, roundness and balance are the impressions we come away with.

Production

358

Tech Notes

Yield: 1/2 ton per acre Harvest: September 10th-13th Numbers @ Harvest: 24.2 Brix, 3.6 pH, 0.81 grams acidity Barrel Regimen: Francois Freres 50% new; 50% 1 year old Bottling: September 2001 no fining or filtration

Reviews

89 (+) points Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar - July/August 2004

Dullish brick-red color. Smoky aromas of strawberry, raspberry, minerals and earth; showed underbrush and roast coffee notes with extended aeration, without losing its mineral pungency.  Spicy and firm-edged, with modest flesh.  The flavors seem a bit evolved, but the wine’s penetrating sweet/tart character suggests its still needs at least a few years to harmonize.  Relies more on its edgy acids than its ripe tannins for structure.  Would make a good partner for fatty game birds or smoked duck or spare ribs.