Winemaker Notes
This Spätburgunder comes from Battenfeld-Spanier's oldest Pinot Noir vines. The yields are extremely low and the chalky underfloor brings a wonderfully cool freshness to the wine. The dark fruit aromas of currant and black cherry are restrained. In the mouth, the wine remains dark and spicy, and minerality dominates.
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.”
