The Clones
This wine is made from a combination of Dijon 777 (66%) and Pommard clone (33%) grapes. The 777 provides a classic red fruit expression of Pinot Noir, while the Pommard contributes earthiness and structure.
The Vintage
2018
After a wet spring that energized the vines, summer brought consistently warm weather to Sonoma County. Our vineyard set an average size crop, and thanks to a full canopy, we had ideal shade on the fruit. As a result, our vines produced pristine grapes, with excellent natural acidity, lovely balance, and pure varietal flavors.
Winemaking
This wine was fermented as 30% whole clusters, with the balance being whole berries. The fruit was hand sorted and then transferred to stainless steel open-top fermenters. Indigenous yeasts performed the fermentation (no commercial yeast were added), malolactic fermentation was also spontaneous. Gentle punch downs were carried out during the 15-day-long maceration period, which was followed by using a classic manual basket press. The majority of the free-run wine went into a large format French oak puncheons. The balance, including the press fraction, went to one and two-year-old French oak Burgundy barrels, which were selected from our Chardonnay barrel program. The wine was aged for a total of 16 months before being bottled un-filtered and un-fined.
