Sonoma Cutrer Pinot Noir

Description

Observation On A New Vintage Vintage 2014 brought another incredibly dry year and the declaration of a California drought. Using deficit irrigation concepts and careful soil and plant moisture data for our drip irrigation scheduling, we came through the season without water shortages. All of the stages throughout the growing season ran approximately two weeks ahead of schedule. The weather was a classic California spring and summer without any extremes. We anticipated that harvest would be very early until the arrival of the fog and a late summer cool down. Harvest began on August 22nd, slightly earlier than normal, with fruit from Vine Hill Ranch. After a slow start, a nice warm up occurred over the Labor Day weekend and the pace picked up. The fruit ripened perfectly and over the course of two and half weeks we finished at Vine Hill. With another nice warm-up in mid-September, harvest began at Owsley Vineyard one week after completing Vine Hill. Keeping up a steady pace of picking, we completed our Pinot harvest on September 27th. This was once again another great season for Russian River Valley Pinot Noir.Our Vineyards Our Owsley and Vine Hill vineyards in the Russian River Valley provided the Pinot Noir for this vintage. The Owsley Vineyard, with its dramatic temperature changes from warm days to cool, foggy nights, creates concentrated and complex flavors in the grapes. Vine Hill Vineyard, with its more than 400-feet elevation change, allows each ridge, slope, and valley in the vineyard to contribute unique characteristics to the grapes. Combined with a variety of soils and clones, high-density spacing and rootstocks that limit excessive vine growth, the vineyards provide a beautiful variety GROVER-VINTNER of elegant fruit. It is from this fruit that we craft our Sonoma-Cutrer Russian River Valley Pinot Noir.On The Wine Grapes are picked by hand early each morning into small bins and hand-sorted RUSSIAN RIVER WALLEY before a gentle destemming. During the four-day cold soak and the eight- to P|NOT NOIR twelve-day fermentation, the wine is punched down by hand in small, open-top fermenters. When the perfect moment has arrived, the wine is gently pressed using a basket press and gravity racked into the barrels. We age our Pinot Noir in a regimen of one-third each of new, once-used and twice-used French oak. After resting for 10 months, the final blend is assembled and prepared for bottling. It is then allowed to evolve for an additional six months in the bottle.This vintage of our Pinot Noir expresses classic Russian River Valley aromas and flavor of dark fruits and forest floor complexity. The first impression starts in the nose with deep, dark berry fruit aromas, cola and cassis followed by a touch of cedar mid-palate has balanced structure accented with flavors of black cherry, dark 100% Pinot Noir wood complexity accented with hints of tobacco, licorice, and baking spices. The chocolate and barrel spice. This wine is round, silky, and elegant with a juicy texture French Oak aged 10 months. – Sonoma-Cutrer