2000 Reserve Pinot Noir, Sonoma County
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Vintage
2000
Price
$37
Release Date
February 2005
Appellation
- 65% Santa Barbara
- 35% Sonoma County
Availability
Select Markets Nationally
Vineyards
Sonoma County - Sterling and Little Vineyards
Download
- Wine Notes [.pdf 148k]
Vintage
Each year, as part of our Reserve program, we select the best blocks from the best vineyards, which are then kept separate through the winemaking process until being selected, barrel-by-barrel, for the final blend. Vintage 2000 provided us with excellent fruit. The growing season began with the warmest winter on record, which gave way to a very warm spring punctuated by a record heat spell in mid June. The warm weather moved us two to three weeks ahead of schedule. A more temperate summer followed, allowing the grapes to ripen evenly. The long, drawn out harvest yielded extremely high quality fruit giving us wine with tremendous body and texture.
Vinification
Four lots of grapes were culled from these three vineyards and each was matched individually to the size and shape fermenter best suited to its development. Three lots were cold soaked to extract maximum flavor with minimum tannin. Punch down and pump over routines were monitored and altered daily through the 8-17 day fermentation. The wine, still maintained in separate lots, was rushed to French oak shortly after pressing to finish secondary fermentation and was stirred weekly to intermittently build middle mouthfeel and velvety texture. The wine received a total of 16 months barrel aging. The individual lots were blended, then bottled in April 2002. Alcohol: 14.5%, Total Acidity: .62, pH: 3.64, Residual Sugar: .07. 1,410 cases produced.
Tasting Notes
An excellent Pinot Noir, and one of the best of the vintage, in a full, complex style. It is intensely flavored, full bodied, and velvety in texture, and has a very long finish. In flavor, it tastes of toasted oak, caramel, plum, black cherry, and tobacco. Enjoy with pork tenderloin with cherry sauce, broiled steak, or beef empanadas.
Terry Nolan, Winemaker