Sterling Pinot Noir Napa

Description

Wine From a legendary growing region, our 2011 Carneros Pinot Noir offers a dark red fruit profile graced with toasty oak complexity. Black cherry and rich toffee aromas open the nose, followed by brambly berry flavors. The sweet scent of forest floor and rich cherry cobbler weave through the smooth and supple palate. The finish is long and satisfying, with a spicy fruit intensity that extends toward a rewarding finale. Roasted duck and other game meats will pair well with the inviting personality of this Pinot Noir.Vineyard Known for its cool climate, the Carneros AVA American Viticulture Area is the perfect growing region for the fickle, early ripening Pinot Noir. Located at the southern tip of Napa Valley, the vineyards have views of the San Pablo Bay and nearby San Francisco Bay. With this close proximity to the water, these vineyards are the first to get the fog and the last to get the sun, maintaining low temperatures for a long, slow ripening. The deep clay soils provide a beneficial stress on the root system, focusing the intensity of flavors in the fruit.Winemaking Following a cool summer, we harvested our grapes several weeks later than average, allowing complex flavors to develop on the vine. At the winery, the grapes were cold soaked for three days to bring forward the aromatics. We then gently sorted, destemmed and placed the grapes in stainless steel for fermentation. To add toasty oak notes, we aged the wine in primarily French oak barrels for ten months with minimal racking.Vintage One of the coolest vintages in recorded history, 2011 began with a wet and cold spring that thinned crop levels in some varietals and stretched harvest dates much later than usual. Summer temperatures remained below average and we harvested a few weeks later than normal. This longer hangtime and cool weather allowed the flavors of the grapes to intensify, producing fruit with bright acidity, supple body and mouth-filling richness. – Sterling Vineyards