W.H. Smith Maritime Vineyard Pinot Noir 2007
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The Twin Hill Ranch Vineyard was originally planted as an apple orchard in 1942. This small four acre Pinot Noir vineyard is now owned and farmed by Ben Hurst. It lies in one of the coolest growing regions, southwest of the town of Sebastopol in western Sonoma County. The vineyard is planted with the Swan clone and Dijon 777.
The Hanes Vineyard is located west of Sebastopol on Burnside Road in the Sonoma Coast Appellation. This vineyard is farmed as a 'labor of love' with total devotion to developing perfect Pinot Noir flavors. This cool climate vineyard, one of our favorites, is planted to clone 777.
These Sonoma Coast Appellation vineyards are farmed to low yields with concentration of flavor in mind, and each brings unique qualities to the finished wine.
In 2007, Maritime stands out from our other Pinots because of its density and concentration. The fruit is dark and brooding – plums, blueberries and dark cherry. But, don't be fooled by all of this serious fruit. You will still get the elegance, balance and acidity that you have come to expect from the W.H. Smith Pinot Noirs. Our wines are made to accompany food and to express the grape in its purest form, which is why we focus on the most extreme, cool-climate vineyards. No wine is more a testament to classic Pinot Noir flavors than our Maritime.
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Bill and Joan Smith, of La Jota on Howell Mountain, got involved with Sonoma Coast pinot noir in the early 1990s, when they purchased a parcel of land in Cazadero and began planting their Maritime Ridge Vineyard. This Maritime Pinot Noir comes from a vineyard further south, between Freestone and Occidental, where they purchase fruit from Marimar Torres; it's a blend of the Pommard clone and Dijon clones. The wine's power is tied to its bosky fruit, the tart cherry flavor bound to mineral tannins, both generous and a little sanguine or sauvage. All of it is suppressed by new oak at the moment, but there is plenty of wine to back up that oak and outlast it in the cellar.
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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.