Winemaker Notes
Bouchaine’s 100-acre estate vineyard lies on the southern border of Napa Valley’s Carneros district, overlooking the San Francisco bay with the financial district in the distance. Fog, wind, and the cold night time temperatures of this unique geographical area lend a distinctive regional identity to this Pinot Noir.
All fruit is hand-harvested at night, preserving berry integrity. After a 7-day cold soak, fruit is fermented with native yeast in open top tanks. The wine is then drawn off and the must is placed into a basket press for gentle pressing. All wines complete malolactic fermentation in French oak barrels. The vineyard blocks are kept separate for evaluation with the most intriguing blocks racked together in late Spring to assemble the finest expression of the Pommard clones from our estate. The blend is returned to barrel to allow the wine to marry before bottling.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Bouchaine's 2020 Pinot Noir Estate Selection Pommard Clone delivers more black cherries than the other offerings, showing greater purity of fruit but still revealing dried-herb and spice complexities. It's medium to full-bodied and expansive in the mouth, with a richness and solidness to it, yet there's an impressive degree of elegance and silk on the finish.
Bouchaine Vineyards is established in the site of the oldest continually operated winery in Carneros in the southern end of the Napa Valley. Bouchaine is dedicated to the pursuit of enticing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, whose grapes are best suited to the climate and soils of our beautiful 100-acre estate vineyard. Located just north of the San Pablo and San Francisco Bays, the vineyard climate is directly influenced by the fog that rolls in each night, and the shallow, clay loam soils are perfectly suited to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
As early as the 1970s Carneros became known as a source of terrific Pinot Noir, and was one of the first California regions to gain such a reputation. The combination of sunny days, cooling fog and thin clay soils are tailor-made for the variety. Another factor in Pinot Noir’s prominent place here is vintners’ willingness to experiment widely. The history of the grape in Carneros is marked by continuous research into clonal variations, viticultural techniques and site selection. Careful evaluation over time has revealed a signature flavor profile as well. Complex aromas and flavors of cherry, red berry, spice, earth and cola appear time and again in Carneros Pinot Noir. To this day the appellation remains one of California’s standard bearers for the variety.