Tasting Notes
The Vintage: The 2023 vintage was one of the coolest and latest vintages I’ve seen in the last two decades. The much-needed rain was more than 55 inches in the Russian River Valley. The precipitation brought extra canopy growth in the vineyards, and led to 5%–15% higher yields for most varieties. Overall, the season was late from bud break through veraison, and finally ripening and harvest. As a result of the long and slow ripening, the 2023 vintage wines are deeply flavorful, beautifully colored, dense, concentrated, and moderate in alcohol. The tannin, structure, and acidity of these wines resembles some of the best European vintages. 2023 is the most age-worthy and memorable vintages in a long time.
The Vineyard: Our 2023 Pinot Noir comes from a vineyard just off River Road in Windsor, on the west end of Russian River Valley Pinot country. All 4.55 tons were equally divided between two clones, 667 and 777. The idea is to bring together the different nuances each clone offers.
Winemaking: The grapes were picked on October 16th, 2022, and chilled in the vineyard with dry ice. At the winery, the fruit was gently destemmed only and, after a few days of “cold” soak, fermented in open-top tanks using a special Pinot Noir yeast. After the fermentation, the free-run wine was collected into barrels directly and aged for about 10 months in 25% French Oak barrels. The lees on the bottom of the barrels were frequently gently stirred during barrel aging to make the wine richer and fuller in mouthfeel. During the life of this wine before bottling, all procedures were done with one primary consideration: a very gentle and hands-off approach. The accomplished goal is to preserve the delicate Pinot aromas.
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