Description
Production: 135 cases
In the Vineyard
The 2014-2015 winter was very mild with no late frosts, offering a large crop. Throughout the summer, warm temperatures during the day were balanced by our cool alpine nights. The vines on both vineyards would have struggled to ripen a full crop. Therefore, again, the decision to drop a quarter of the crop on the ground at veraison. Grapes from both vineyards were harvested late from October 28th through the 31st.
In the Cellar
For the Pinot, we disassembled a portion of our crusher to allow de-stemming without crushing the berries, giving us what looked like vats of blueberries awaiting their yeast. The resulting whole berry fermentation took longer to complete, but preserved the delicate berry aromas the vineyard had given us. Nine separate vats fermented for 19 days, peaking at 65 F. Some vats were designated for a new Rose’ of Pinot Noir while others became the 2015 Pinot Noir. An extended cold soak at 45 F pushed the final pressing out until December 11.
Brix: 21-23
pH: 3.59-3.63
Total Acidity: 5.0-5.5 g/l
Flavor very delicate, seeds fully ripe, juice temp 50 F.
The finished wine was pressed directly to neutral French oak barrels and aged for almost 3 years. In November of 2018, we bottled and the wine was held for 5 months of bottle age before a Spring 2019 release.
