Gundlach Bundschu Rhinefarm Pinot Noir 2005
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This medium-weight Pinot Noir gets its supple mouthfeel from 35-year-old Heritage clone fruit and its concentration and weight from the younger Pommard and Dijon clone blocks, resulting in complexly layered flavors, elegant texture and a long, smooth finish.
The 2005 Pinot Noir will benefit from cellaring 3–7 years from the vintage date.
Gundlach Bundschu Winery is a family-owned, sixth-generation producer of distinctive wines of site-specific character. The winery's 320-acre Estate Vineyard, christened Rhinefarm in 1858, is located at the crossroads of the Sonoma Valley, Carneros and Napa Valley AVAs, at the base of the Mayacamas Mountain Range.
Gundlach Bundschu approaches its vineyards, wines, business and the world with spirit, creativity and dedication to excellence. When you open a bottle of Gundlach Bundschu, you uncork not only the Estate's unique ability to produce profound wines, but also a rich, personal relationship between the Gundlach Bundschu family and the land on which the family lives.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Home to a diverse array of smaller AVAs with varied microclimates and soil types, Sonoma County has something for every wine lover. Physically twice as large as Napa Valley, the region only produces about half the amount of wine but boasts both tremendous quality and variety. With its laid-back atmosphere and down-to-earth attitude, the wineries of Sonoma are appreciated by wine tourists for their friendliness and approachability. The entire county intends to become a 100% sustainable winegrowing region by 2019.
Sonoma County wines are produced with carefully selected grape varieties to reflect the best attributes of their sites—Dry Creek Valley’s consistent sunshine is ideal for Zinfandel, while the warm Alexander Valley is responsible for rich, voluptuous red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are important throughout the county, most notably in the cooler AVAs of Russian River, Sonoma Coast and Carneros. Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Syrah have also found a firm footing here.