VINTAGE NOTES
2007 Pinot Noir
SANTA RITA HILLS


VARIETAL            100% Pinot Noir
APPELLATION     Santa Rita Hills
VINEYARD           Lindsay’s Vineyard
HARVEST             October 4, 2007

OAK AGING         14 months
T.A.                         6.2 g/L
PH                           3.35
ALCOHOL             14.5%
BOTTLING DATE  January 20, 2009
PRODUCTION       285 cases

HARVEST
Santa Barbara County saw an unusually warm summer following a very dry spring with no rainfall after February. These climate conditions along with a light crop accelerated maturity. Harvest began earlier than normal and a heat wave in early September pushed grapes to ripeness. Small berry size and low cluster numbers along with the ideal summer growing conditions produced fruit of superb quality.

VINEYARD
Lindsay’s Vineyard is the former Ashley's Vineyard in Santa Rita Hills, which we have sourced for several years. Planted in 1998, the vineyard has undulating hills and sandy, chalky soil. Because of its proximity to the Pacific Ocean, the climate is exceptionally cool with prevalent winds and marine fog—excellent conditions for low-yielding, high quality Pinot Noir. Clones selected for this wine include Dijon clones 115, 777 and Pommard.

WINEMAKING
Pinot Noir grapes were hand harvested into half-ton bins and crushed into small temperature-controlled tanks. Following a two-day cold soak that promoted excellent extraction of color, aroma and flavor, the lots were inoculated with Assmanshausen yeast to initiate the primary fermentation. Additional extraction was achieved by gently pumping over the wine three times daily. After pressing, the wine was transferred to small French oak barrels, including 40% new oak, where it aged for 14 months.

TASTING NOTES