One hundred percent Anderson Valley Pinot Noir from three top vineyards! Seventy eight percent of the grapes were grown at Navarro vineyards without the use of chemical insecticides or herbicides. Another fifteen percent came from our neighbor on our north border, Valley Foothills Vineyard, where they farm nine acres of the latest Pinot clones to Navarro's specs under long tern contract.
We fermented this Pinot Noir the "old- fashioned" way by punching down by hand rather than using pumps. This helps keep the tannins soft and avoids excess astringency. At the end of fermentation, rather than pump the juice or must, we use a forklift to pour the entire contents of the Pinot fermentor into the wine press. Assisted gravity!
Pinot Noir's name is derived from the French words for "pine" and "black"; the tight clusters are in the shape of a pine cone and the dark purple fruit almost looks black. Pinot Noir clusters are small, and 2008 exaggerated the paucity of fruit. The berries are tiny compared to table grapes and is the reason that wines are so flavorful.
The final seven percent were from Dijon clones 667 and 115 grown by our neighbor to the west, Corby vineyards. This is a cuvée produced from grapes grown in seventeen different vineyard blocks from nine different Pinot Noir clones grown on five different rootstocks. Forty percent of this complex wine was aged in new French Oak barrels, 40% in one year old barrels and 20% in two year old barrels, so the mouthfeel is round, soft and balanced with vanilla from aging in oak barrels and smoke, a signature of the 2008 vintage. Gold Medal winner.