2010 Garey Vineyard Pinot Noir

About This Wine:

This bottling represents our first vineyard-designated Pinot Noir from the outstanding Garey Vineyard. The wine displays extraordinary complexity and depth throughout—from color and aromatics to flavors and texture. Rich, dark cherry fruit aromatics give way to intensely expressive ripe cherry flavors, which are nicely balanced with a background of clove, nutmeg and a touch of French oak. A rich, decadent mouthfeel culminates in a long, sumptuous finish. Though extremely drinkable upon release, this wine will reward those who choose to age it for another six to eight years.

Wine Profile:

	Vintage:	2010
	Varietal:	100% Pinot Noir
	Appellation:	Santa Maria Valley
	Vineyard:	Garey
	Acid:	5.6 g/l
	PH:	3.56
	Alcohol %:	14.8%
	Production:	94 cases

Vineyard Source:

100% Garey Vineyard (Santa Maria Valley) Situated at the cool, westerly end of Santa Maria Valley, this vineyard was planted in 1999 with input from Ken Brown. The vineyard boasts the finest Pinot Noir clones grafted on to low-vigor rootstocks with high density 6’ X 4’ vine spacing. This combination assures the highest quality Pinot Noir at this cool site. Precise leaf pulling, cluster thinning and shoot positioning also contributed to fully expressing the excellent potential of this vineyard.

Vintage Notes:

2010 was a vintage of extremes with unusual, yet well-timed weather events. The growing season was off to a slow start with an exceptionally cool spring and summer. Early October brought several days of record-breaking heat, which helped the grapes reach full maturity. Yields in this long, cool vintage were particularly low at the Garey Vineyard with only 1.72 tons per acre. More importantly, berry size was extremely small with excellent skin to juice ratio, resulting in a lush, beautifully extracted wine. The grapes were harvested on October 5.

Winemaker Notes:

Pinot Noir clusters from the Garey Vineyard were hand sorted before being de-stemmed and immediately chilled for a pre-fermentation cold soak where the most beneficial extraction of color, aroma and flavor occurs. During fermentation, concentration was enhanced by gently punching down the cap. As soon as the wine reached dryness, it was pressed and transferred to 60-gallon French oak barrels where it aged for 10 months. About 38% of the barrels were new French oak.