Winemaker Notes
The grapes were harvested in the cool morning hours to preserve the aromatics of the fruit. After a three-day cold soak, the wine was fermented in open top fermentors with daily punch downs to maximize color and flavor extraction. Throughout the winemaking process each lot was kept separate. This allowed us to tailor our winemaking techniques on the micro level and gave us more options for the final blend. After 20 months in French oak (50% new) the wine was bottled.
Our 2008 Pinot Noir opens with enticing aromas of dark berries, chocolate and toasty oak. The palate is laced with cherries, blackberries, vanilla and lavender. This is a rich, fleshy wine held together with a solid backbone of silky tannins and firm natural acidity. It drinks beautifully with duck, turkey, grilled meats and salmon.
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.”
A superior source of California Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills is the coolest, westernmost sub-region of the larger Santa Ynez Valley appellation within Santa Barbara County. This relatively new AVA is unquestionably one to keep an eye on.
The climate of Sta. Rita Hills is a natural match for Chardonnay and Pinot noir, thanks to the crisp ocean breezes and well-drained, limestone-rich calcareous soil. Here, grapes ripen just enough, while retaining brisk acidity and harmonious balance.