The 2016 vintage was near-perfect in Napa Valley. The growing season had an early start and ideal weather throughout. Harvest was ideally paced, with vineyards ripening in a cycle that allowed successive picking at targeted ripeness. The resulting wines are showing great balance and intensity of flavor. The Pinot Noir grapes for this wine were grown in the Carneros region, where soils are dense, shallow, of low to moderate fertility, and high in clay content. After destemming, the grapes were whole-berry fermented in open-top fermenters, which were punched down manually to provide maximum flavor and minimum harsh tannins. Following fermentation, the wine was transferred to small French oak barrels for ten months. The barrels were 33% new and 67% used (2nd and 3rd year). Prior to bottling, the wine received minimal filtration and fining to preserve the fresh berry flavors. Black raspberry, spiced oak, sweet tobacco, bitter orange, and cocoa greet the senses. Silky tannins, bright cherry and juicy pomegranate persist in the wine's long finish.