Palate
Extremely dense, rich, luscious berry and dark chocolate Pinot.
Harvest
After a very small 2003 vintage and the surprisingly hot 2004 harvest, 2005 was welcome. The crop was balanced and the weather was perfect to slowly ripen Pinot Noir.
Bottling
We fined lightly using egg whites to remove some of the excessive tannin. We bottled without filtration.
Winemaking
All the grapes we hand harvested and fermented in open top tanks, and punched down twice a day by hand. All of these procedures are time consuming but necessary for making Pinot Noir with balance. The gentle extraction of hand punch downs yields rich, ripe tannins, which balance nicely with the fruit and oak.
Aging
After pressing and short settling of only the heavy lees the wine was aged for 18 months in 100% new Francois Frères French Oak barrels.
