2010 Carneros Pinot Noir

We’ve been growing, experimenting with and making Pinot Noir from Carneros
for over 30 years; it’s our passion. What we’ve discovered is that if we let the character of Carneros guide our Pinot Noir winemaking effort, there still remains plenty of room for our own particular style to complement and augment what Mother Nature so generously gives us.

It’s in our Carneros bottling of Pinot Noir where experience,house style and the essence of our appellation show most clearly. We work with a select handful of vineyards located throughout Carneros, but with a heavier emphasis on the Napa Valley side of the
AVA. Our regard for the quality of Carneros fruit is shown by the gentle handling the grapes and wine receive from vineyard to bottle. Restraint and balance are critical to making Pinot Noir that maintains the character of place, rather than simply the hand of
the producer.

To achieve a style of wine we believe delivers varietal and regional integrity we undertake a careful, methodical exercise in blending. In late winter, after all our lots have completed malolactic fermentation and have been resting in small French oak barrels, we begin the search for our “Carneros” bottling. In tasting through all our barreled Pinot Noir, we are above all looking for those lots that show the right
balance of tannin and acid, coupled with fruit flavors that while rich, dark-red and complex, are not overblown. Our Carneros bottling delivers distinctive Pinot Noir character of black/sour cherry and spice in a vibrant and elegant wine.