Nose
The nose is
loaded with classic Russian River Valley
aromas of dark berry, cola and Bing cherry.
Palate
The palate shows more cherry, with
raspberry, blueberry, and even a touch of
pastry dough. Expansive on the palate, this
is a full-bodied Pinot, with earthy tannin on
the finish and just enough acidity to keep
the ripe fruit in balance.
Growing Conditions
Our Russian River Valley Pinot Noir comes from the Nugent vineyard, planted in
1997 by Anne Moller-Racke and Joe Nugent to 10 acres of Dijon 115 and 667. The
natural variations in soil across the vineyard, along with the blend of clones, results
in a complex wine, with richness from the 667 and elegance and finesse from the
115. Fog from the Pacific generally recedes fairly early in the day resulting in
plenty of sun, but prevailing winds from the west keep this site cooler in the afternoon,
allowing extended of hang time.
Harvest
The season unfolded event-free, with normal budbreak, and good winter rains to fill the soil profile,
giving us the resources for a promising season. Strong and even shoot growth is one of the benchmarks
for a good season. Flowering occurred late in May, which is very normal, indicating we would pick in late
September. Temperatures at flowering were mild, leading to a healthy fruit set. Most of the summer
months continued with mild weather, allowing for less stress on the vines and causing a slightly larger
berry size than normal, which is one of the reasons 2012 was so bountiful.
The season continued quite perfectly for us growers, with no untimely weather occurrences; overall it
was a mild to cooler season. September saw a few days of heat, which helped to push harvest into gear.
And happily, harvest continued over the course of weeks, allowing us to focus on each of our vineyards,
and blocks, picking them at peak maturity. After the stress of 2011 this was a wonderful gift. All our fruit
was harvested before the first Fall rains visited the valley in mid-October.
Bottling
In January of 2014 we selected the best barrels to assemble our Russian River blend, which
was bottled on Feb 5, 2014.
Winemaking
Cool weather in September allowed us to pick our Russian River vineyard block by block, providing a
range of ripeness levels. Each block was fermented separately, spending anywhere from 15 to 25 days
on the skins. Depending on the block, the cap was punched-down up to four times per day, for
maximum extraction, with occasional pump-overs used to provide oxygen to the fermentation. After
fermentation finishes we taste the juice daily to determine the perfect time to press.
Aging
For Donum we use only free run barrels, which undergo malolactic fermentation in barrel. The barrels
are not racked, allowing each barrel to keep its unique characteristics, and providing us plenty of options
for blending.
Appearance
The 2012 Russian River Valley is ruby in
color, with a hint of purple.
