2020 Pinot Noir

Duarte Vineyard, El Dorado

Tasting Notes

This wine has a relatively delicate maroon color, as is typical for Pinot Noir. However, it is anything but light on aromatics, with lovely complex aromas of rose hips, cherry, dark chocolate, leather, pomegranate, earth, a hint of spice and dried herbs that continually evolve as you swirl your glass and revisit. Light to medium bodied in structure but big on character with juicy cranberry flavors, and a lingering finish.

Winemaking Notes

The Duarte Vineyard is in Georgetown at around 2,500 feet in elevation, which is exactly the threshold we think is perfect for mountain grown Pinot Noir in our region. This Pinot Noir grows on a North facing slope of the canyon, receiving less direct sunlight than a South facing slope, resulting in slow and even ripening. We harvested a selection of five different clones of Pinot Noir, each slightly different from the other but all of them with small, tight bunches for maximum structural components in the wine.

We fermented the grapes as all whole berries without crushing, to encourage fruit-forward characteristics. We fermented with a traditional Burgundian yeast strain then pressed the wine to barrel and aged it on the lees, stirring them back in periodically before letting them settle and racking the wine prior to bottling.

Food Pairing

Pair with duck with a cherry sauce, oven roasted salmon, chicken paillard with mushroom red wine sauce, or a dish of roasted root vegetables and mushrooms with fresh thyme. Try this wine with truffled pairings like Point Reyes Farmstead Toma Truffle cheese, or a flatbread or delicate pasta with truffle and cheese.

Aging

Aged in 80% new French Oak and 20% Neutral Oak for 6 months.

Wine Specs

100% Pinot Noir