Winemaker Notes
Wrath’s previous vintages of Tondré Grapefield Pinot Noirs have shared a distinctive quality that comes from the terroir of this outstanding vineyard. The 2016 pairs that quality with rich fruit in a blend of Pommard 4, 115 and 777 clones. The finished product combines dried plum, wild berries, porcini mushroom and spiced cola to form a decadent and dense Pinot Noir that is able to remain nimble due to its expressive acidity and s0fter tannins.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The medium ruby-colored 2016 Pinot Noir Tondré Grapefield offers a gamey, meaty style as well as plenty of mulled red and black fruits. It’s charming, sweetly fruited, and medium-bodied. While it lacks the class of some of the other single vineyard releases, it’s nevertheless an outstanding wine.
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 geographic and climatic paradise for grape vines, Monterey is a part of the greater Central Coast AVA and contains within it five smaller sub-appellations, including Arroyo Seco, San Lucas, San Bernabe, Hames Valley and the famous Santa Lucia Highlands. The climate is relatively warm but tempered by cool, coastal winds, allowing the regions in Monterey County an exceptionally long growing season. Bud break often happens two weeks sooner and harvest tends to be two weeks later compared to other surrounding regions.
Monterey’s coastal side, where the cooling ocean fog allows grapes to develop a perfect sugar-acid balance, excels in the production of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling. Warmer, inland subzones are home to fleshy, concentrated and full-bodied reds like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Zinfandel.
Chardonnay, covering about 40% of vineyard acreage, is the most widely planted grape in all of Monterey County.