2010 Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir

About This Wine:

This wine is silky and rich with wonderful dimension in aromatics, texture and flavor. Aromas of cherry and blackberry are accented by subtle earth tones and a touch of spice. The big, expressive aromatics give way to classic Pinot Noir fruit flavors of bright cherry and blackberry enveloped in a lush texture and layered with complexity. While the fruit forward characteristics of this wine make it very enjoyable upon release, extended cellar aging for six years or more will promote even more depth and complexity in both flavor and aromatics.

Wine Profile:

	Vintage:	2010
	Varietal:	100% Pinot Noir
	Appellation:	Santa Barbara County
	Vineyards:	Rio Vista, Rita's Crown
	Acid:	5.20 g/l
	PH:	3.73
	Alcohol %:	14.7%

Vineyard Sources:

76% Rio Vista Vineyard, 24% Rita’s Crown Vineyard (Sta. Rita Hills). Planted in 2000, Rio Vista is located at the easterly end of the Sta. Rita Hills and has proven to be one of the best and most consistent Pinot Noir vineyards in the appellation. Three-quarters of the fruit is from clone 115, while the balance is from the Calera selection. Situated further west, Rita’s Crown is one of the newest vineyards in Sta. Rita Hills, planted in 2007 on a dramatic hillside. In this its first year of production, the vines produced a remarkable wine with a deep and extracted wild blackberry expression from the newest Dijon clones 667, 777 and 828.

Vintage Notes:

2010 turned out to be a remarkable vintage, despite a sequence of extreme weather patterns that, at the time, did not bode well for a great year. The growing season experienced a wet winter and an exceptionally cool spring and summer. Early October brought several days of record-breaking heat, followed by a half inch of rain a week later. In hindsight, the heat spell compensated for the cool spring and summer, providing some much needed heat units, and the rain revitalized the vines so they could successfully continue the grape ripening process. Grapes from Rita’s Crown were harvested on September 27, while Rio Vista fruit was picked on October 1 and 5.

Winemaker Notes:

Pinot Noir clusters for this wine were hand sorted before being de-stemmed and gravity fed to fermenters. The must was 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 several times per day. The wine aged 10 months in French oak barrels with 35% new French oak and was bottled on August 10, 2011.