Nose
The nose is typical of a pure Pinot Noir with floral notes of violets, daffodils and white lilies.
Palate
The new French oak shows ever so slightly with hints of cedar wood, fresh walnuts and dark chocolate intermixed with fruity aromas of black cherries, dried wild strawberries and candied cranberries with a touch of spice with cardamom, laurel and crème brulée. The finish is well-balanced and elegant with seamless integration of the tannins. This is a wine that can be enjoyed now, particularly if decanted, but also to be cellared for five to ten years
Growing Conditions
The grapes for this Pinot Noir are coming from the Clos Madeleine block, located in the heart of the cooler Petaluma gap area.
Harvest
All hand-picked by the crew early morning on September 27.
Bottling
We did not fine nor filter the wine prior to bottling in order to keep its purity and full expression.
Winemaking
Hand-harvested, meticulously hand-sorted before and after de-stemming on our state-of-the-art sorting tables by a crew of 14 people and cold-soaked for 5 days at 40°F, the fermentation of the pure berries took place for two weeks in one of our specially designed and perfectly temperature controlled stainless steel fermenter, with punch-down twice a day based on tasting. After the alcoholic fermentation, the wine was barreled in 100 % new French oak barrels. We had a weekly stirring regime during 2 months and the Malolactic fermentation took place in barrels.
Aging
22 months in 100% new French oak barrels. Topping and racking the wine and regular tastings has been our duty until the bottling in January 2010.
Appearance
Our 2007 vintage has a beautiful garnet color, with hues of blue indicating its young age.
