Nose
Aromas of blackberries, boysenberry, nutmeg and smoke are followed by flavors of Bing cherries, wild raspberries, roasted plum and allspice.
Palate
A compelling & dense entry followed by a sweet and juicy mouthfeel is supported by balanced acidity, fine grain tannins and an intriguingly, complex finish.
Growing Conditions
The 2012 Hartford Court Russian River Valley Pinot Noir comes from a collection of small vineyards located throughout the Russian River Valley AVA. Sourced primarily from a handful of growers located in really ‘sweet-spots’ in the heart of the Russian River Valley complemented by estate Russian River Valley vineyard sources such as our winery block located off of Martinelli Road (just down the road from the locally famous ‘Martinelli Jack Ass Hill’ vineyard) and our Fog Dance Vineyard near Iron Horse Winery (both located in Green Valley of Russian River Valley). Hand harvested and hand sorted at the cluster level, de-stemmed but not crushed, sorted again at the berry level and then fermented in small open-top, temperature controlled Stainless steel fermentors using ‘wild’ (or ‘indigenous’) yeasts. This delicious new Pinot Noir undergoes a pre-fermentation cold soak along with gentle handling techniques such as punching down (versus pumping over), moving the wine with inert gas (versus pumps) and use of only the ‘free run’ lots before aging for 10 months in medium+ toasted French oak barrels. These gentle handling techniques help promote a silky mouthfeel, greater complexity and a fresher fruit focus.
Winemaking
7-10 days in temperature controlled stainless open-top fermentors
Aging
10 months, 100% French oak, 33% new
