Patz & Hall Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 1999

The 1999 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir is produced from a blend of four vineyard sites. They are Russian River Valley sites Saralee's Vineyard, Catie's Corner Vineyard and Vin Alchemy Vineyard as well as a Sonoma Valley site - Adamine Vineyard at the top of the ridge between Napa and Sonoma Counties in the Mt. Veeder area. The combination of these sites produced a wine heavily influenced by the Russian River Valley fruit and only just missed the cutoff for being called a "Russian River Valley" wine. 1999 was a very good growing season. We performed shoot thinning at Saralee's Vineyard in order to provide more concentration and depth of flavor. The young vines are both Vin Alchemy and Catie's Corner did not require shoot thinning but at Adamine Vineyard we chose to drop some of the crop for better balance. A long, cool growing season suited Pinot Noir in 1999 and we received very fully ripened, richly flavored grapes. During the picking we hand-sorted for any less than perfect clusters. Finally, we ran the grapes over our sorting table at the winery to have a final look and remove any clusters we missed the first time. The results from all the sites in 1999 were impressive. The individual components from each site were only separate for the first couple of months. The blend came together naturally and has produced what we strongly believe is the best appellation Pinot Noir we have produced to date. The 1999 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir is primarily a combination of Adamine Vineyard and Saralee's Vineyard wines which seem to mesh very nicely. The 1999 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir will be immediately drinkable as well as benefit from moderate cellar aging. Tasting Notes: Dark, ruby red color; explosive aromas of ripe cherries, blackberry and fresh spices; the flavors are complex with blackberry and cassis with a distinctive violet and blueberry/cola note. This is a delicious medium bodied wine, loaded with supple textures, rich mouth feel with ample supple tannins and a long lasting cherry/berry finish. Aging potential 4-8 years.