The Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir is always one of our favorite appellation Pinot Noirs. This area, because of the cooler climate, leads to longer hang times and grapes that develop fully ripe flavors at significantly lower sugar levels. This longer hang time also leads to ripe stems which oftentimes allows us to utilize whole cluster fermentations in the wines. The 2008 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir comes 100% from the Sonatera Vineyard. The Sonatera Vineyard lies in the very cool Petaluma Gap area and it usually one of the last vineyards that we pick in California It is a blend of the Pommard, 777, 667, and 115 clones. These clones ripen at very different times and are picked over about a two week period as each one reaches optimal ripeness. As we mentioned, the wine was fermented with some stems included which helped to create a more complex mélange of flavors. The wine was then aged for 10 months in a mix of new and older French oak barrels. The wine was blended together in tank, using gravity, just a few weeks prior to bottling and was bottled without fining or filtration.

Despite this wine's lofty origins we are committed to making it available at a very fair price.

 

Cases: 750
Released:November 2009