2007 Central Coast Pinot Noir
Winemaker's Notes
The ripe fruit from this vintage offers an amazing perfumed nose of pie cherries, truffles, spice, cardamom and fresh strawberry preserves. Your palate expands with flavors of concentrated cherries, pomegranates, sassafras, fennel and morel mushrooms. Rich and slightly aggressive tannins help to carry the balanced acidity that follows long into the finish. Probably the best Central Coast I've assembled in 11 vintages.
—Winemaker Bob Cabral
Scores & Reviews
| Points | Publication | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 90 | Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar | May-June 2009 |
| 88 | Connoisseurs’ Guide to California Wine | June 2009 |
| 89 | Wine Enthusiast | September 2009 |
| 88 | Burghound.com | October 2009 |
The Vineyards
100% Estate Vista Verde Vineyard, located a couple miles southeast of Hollister, California, near the small town of Tres Pinos in San Benito County. This heavy limestone vineyard is separated into eight blocks that include clones such as Pommard, Calera, Canada, 115, 777, 828 and 943.
Harvest 2007
The 2007 vintage has produced wines of extremely high quality, wines that are each brilliant expressions of their sites. The growing season was distinguished by its evenness with a cool finish. Bud break was at the usual time around the first part of March. A few frost days that Spring were of little concern as the vines grew at an orderly pace. Berry set was somewhat interrupted with light winds causing a small amount of shatter and unpollenated berries. The summer months were characterized by warm, sunny, near-perfect weather with very few heat spikes during the fruit ripening stage of the vine growth cycle. This resulted in very uniform ripening and optimal development of intense varietal flavors, aromas and expression. Moderately warm mid-August weather accelerated ripening and culminated in a Labor Day weekend of near perfect sunshine that launched a methodical and even paced harvest of Russian River Valley Pinot Noir ready for picking. By late September, fog returned and the cool weather prevailed, temporarily stalling harvest, slowing the accumulation of sugar, and allowing phenolics and flavors to continue to develop in pace with the sugars. The break from the heat permitted the rest of the fruit to be picked at a gentle pace, at peak flavor and optimal maturity. Small berries delivered wines dark in color with exceptional concentration of flavors, aromas and ripe tannins. The wines of 2007 convey their unique characters in a manner more vivid, precise and evocative than we have come to anticipate. In a decade of exceptional vintages, this one really stands above all others.
Technical Notes
| Barrel Description: | 33% new, 33% 1-year-old, 33% 2-year-old |
|---|---|
| Barrel Aged: | 11 months |
| pH: | 3.59 |
| TA: | 0.59g/100ml |
| Alc.: | 14.2% |
| Release Date: | Spring 2009 |
| Release Price: | $34 |