2004 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

Purchase 2004 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

PHILOSOPHY
Our Russian River Valley Pinot Noir is always a fruit forward wine where we strive to create a distinctive, benchmark expression of our famous appellation. The goal is to present an elegant and pure rendition of the variety that is enjoyable upon release but will also reward short-term aging. While select lots from our 42-acre Quail Hill Vineyard home estate form an important component of this bottling, we also work closely with a small group of local growers who share our commitment to quality.

2004 GROWING SEASON
While 2004 will be remembered as the earliest harvest in 50 years, it was nonetheless a long, cool growing season that has yielded some exceptional wines. A warm winter led to early budbreak, exposing vineyards to potential frost. Fortunately this threat did not materialize, and the grapes matured through an uneventful spring and summer. Heat spikes towards the end of the season pushed many young-vine Pinot vinyeards to full ripeness in late August, meaning that a main challenge for producers was managing the logistics of many sites ripening simultaneously. A lull in harvest activity followed before picking started again mid-September. Cooling in mid-late September allowed some of our later ripening sites extra hang time, the final picks finishing in early October. This spread of maturity dates gave us an exciting aroma and flavor range to blend from.

THE WINEMAKING
Winemaking for the Russian River Valley Pinot Noir lots is focused on capturing fruit and moderating extraction to yield components of great perfume, yet balanced and elegant structure. Fruit was hand picked early in the morning and transported to the winery while still cool, then hand-sorted before being gently de-stemmed and transferred without pumping into small (2.5 and 4.5 ton) open-top fermenters. The fruit was then cold-soaked for three to seven days at 50°F before allowing native yeast fermentations to begin. Fermentations were gently punched down by hand two to four times per day. Total skin contact ranged from 12-18 days depending on each lot objective. Wines were then put into barrels where secondary, malolactic fermentation occurred over several months. Racking was minimal, with aging on light lees until the final blend was assembled. Vineyard sources spanned the appellation from Eastside Road to either side of the Bodega Highway corridor, including, of course, Quail Hill Vineyard itself. This wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered.

TASTING NOTES
Winemaking for the Russian River Valley Pinot Noir lots is focused on capturing fruit and moderating extraction to yield components of great perfume, yet balanced and elegant structure. Fruit was hand picked early in the morning and transported to the winery while still cool, then hand-sorted before being gently de-stemmed and transferred without pumping into small (2.5 and 4.5 ton) open-top fermenters. The fruit was then cold-soaked for three to seven days at 50°F before allowing native yeast fermentations to begin. Fermentations were gently punched down by hand two to four times per day. Total skin contact ranged from 12-18 days depending on each lot objective. Wines were then put into barrels where secondary, malolactic fermentation occurred over several months. Racking was minimal, with aging on light lees until the final blend was assembled. Vineyard sources spanned the appellation from Eastside Road to either side of the Bodega Highway corridor, including, of course, Quail Hill Vineyard itself. This wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Purchase 2004 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir