Nose
A nose that is classic Carneros: cherry, raspberry,
and strawberry with a faint forest floor note.
Palate
The palate is rich and lush, yet with plenty of
balancing acidity that carries through as the flavors go from fresh cherry and berry through
floral and on to sassafras and cocoa on the finish. This wine is just beginning to reveal its
many layers.
Harvest
The 2014 Vintage marked the third year of drought in California as a whole, although in the North
Bay we were fortunate to receive heavy storms in February and March which replenished the soils
and ponds. The season started early and stayed that way, with mild weather in the spring and
warm (but not overly hot) weather through the summer save for a few heat spikes early in June
and July which were far enough from harvest to cause few worries. A late heat spike in early
October provided energy for the last few blocks, and harvest wrapped up shortly thereafter.
The wines are softer than in 2013, and more accessible in their youth. The vintage evoked some
comparisons to 2004, another early year without too many overly hot days. The vintage’s evenness
led to wines that are well balanced with good acidity, so despite showing well young they should
also age well, as we have seen with the 2004s.
Bottling
BOTTLING DATE: January 22, 2016.
Winemaking
Our Carneros Estate pinot noir is blended from three adjacent blocks on our Estate. Each is planted
to the Donum selection of pinot noir, which has thicker skins than most clones, and therefore takes
a little longer to ripen. Harvest began the last week of September, and continued into October as
we moved through the blocks and harvested each at optimal ripeness. In the winery the fruit is
carefully hand-sorted and gravity fed to tank. Maceration times ranged from 20 to 33 days, with
malolactic fermentations occurring in barrel after primary fermentation was complete. The wine
then aged on the lees until January of 2016, at which point we selected the top barrels to make
our estate blend.
Aging
55% new French oak (Francois
Frères, Atelier, Cadus, Remond, Gamba).
Appearance
The 2014.Estate is bright ruby in color
