2009 Pinot Noir

Winemaking: The 2009 harvest was a bit challenging with early rain in the middle of harvest. Luckily the Pinot Noir ripened earlier than the rest of the varieties and was all harvested before the rain. The season was relatively cool overall resulting in brighter fruit aromas and more elegant wines in general. The 4 tons of Pinot grapes were equally divided among three clones—667, 777 and 115. The idea is to bring together the different nuances that each clone has to offer. The grapes were picked on September 4th of 2009 and chilled on the vineyard with dry ice. At the winery, the fruit was gently destemmed only and after a few days of “cold” soak fermentation in an open top tank using only native yeast. After the fermentation, the free run wine was collected into barrels directly and aged for about 11 months. During the aging, the lees on the bottom of the barrels were frequently stirred with the intention to make the wine with a richer and fuller mouthfeel. During the life of this wine before bottling, all procedures were done with one major consideration—to use a very gentle, hands-off approach in order to preserve and elevate the delicate Pinot aromas.

Winemaker’s Tasting Notes: The 2009 Miro Pinot Noir is medium red with a slight garnet hue. The first impression is of cherry compote, slightly plumy, ripe strawberry and a hint of rhubarb pie. With further aeration, the wine shows slight nuances of new oak barrels—vanilla and toast and a hint of forest floor and earthiness. The mouthfeel starts out soft and rich and finishes with balanced acidity and soft tannin. The wine is still very young at the time of these notes and it will develop nicely with two to four years of aging.