2007 Westside Road Neighbors Pinot Noir
Winemaker's Notes
In ‘05 I began blending in a small amount of fruit from our Litton Estate vineyards, and almost 15% of this blend comes from specially selected Litton blocks. Medium red, but rich in color, the wine presents a bouquet of ripe strawberries, berry cobbler, plums, anise, clove, butterscotch and toasty oak. The palate is layered with flavors of blackberry, cassis, cherry cola, sarsaparilla, toasted bread, minerals and concentrated ripe tannins. This multifarious and seductive wine shows the true vineyard expressions of this unique area — plus it was a lot of fun to blend.
—Winemaker Bob Cabral
Scores & Reviews
| Points | Publication | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 93+ | Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar | May-June 2009 |
| 93 | Wine Enthusiast | August 2009 |
| 90 | Burghound.com | October 2009 |
| 95 | Connoisseurs' Guide to CA Wine | October 2009 |
| 92 | California Grapevine | October-November 2009 |
The Vineyards
The pinot noir for this blend was sourced from neighboring vineyards along Westside Road: the Allen Vineyard, the Bacigalupi Vineyard, the Bucher Vineyard, the Flax Vineyard, the Rochioli Riverblock Vineyard, and our Litton Estate Vineyard.
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: | 65% new, 35% 1-year-old |
|---|---|
| Barrel Aged: | 16 months |
| pH: | 3.44 |
| TA: | 0.63g/100ml |
| Alc.: | 13.8% |
| Release Date: | Spring 2009 |
| Release Price: | $67 |