2017 Gravel Pit Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast

Our Pinot Noir comes from one of the most sought after and prized vineyards in Sonoma County. This very special site is influenced by the Pacific Ocean to the west and the San Francisco bay to the south.  The well drained soil is derived from volcanic parent material and is very gravelly and rocky. We received two clones of pinot noir from this very well farmed site. Clone 115 known to be one of the only pinot noir clones to make stand alone quality wine, and the Swan clone, which is very aromatic.

The grapes were hand harvested at night to ensure cold fruit for a three day pre-fermentation maceration.  We hand sorted 80% of the clusters to the berry level after adding 20% whole clusters to the small stainless steel fermentation vessels. After fermentation we aged the wine for 11 months in 30% new, 35% 1 yr and 35% neutral, experienced French oak barrels. We elected to bottle the wine unfined and unfiltered.

We enjoyed a long cool vintage following a winter of abundant rainfall after some very dry years. This lead to an early exuberant canopy followed by some heat in June that helped to settle down the growth. We had an unprecedented heat wave at the beginning of September just as the grapes were almost in the perfect flavor window. Giving the vines a chance to recover and rehydrate the fruit is critical for the best possible wine. We picked on September 10th, a full week and a half after the big heat, and just before the next temperature spike.