Grower’s Reserve Pinot Noir
2020 Grower’s Reserve Pinot Noir
This unique blend is dedicated to two of our long-time growers. Oppenlander Vineyard provides 54% of the blend and is near the town of Comptche in Mendocino County. It is farmed by Kitty and Norm Shandel, the 5th generation of their family to farm the land. Hawk’s Roost Ranch provides the rest at 46% and is in the Russian River Valley. Chuck Jones, the owner and farmer of Hawks Roost and a long-time collaborator of Greg La Follette, passed away this year and we dedicate this blend to him and his family. Hawks Roost is grown in heavy Huichica clay loam close to the Laguna de Santa Rosa, Chuck chose the rare Swiss Mariafeld clone which yields great structure and acidity to our wine and harmonizes nicely with the highly-structured fruit we get from the Shandel family of Oppenlander Vineyard.
$45
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The 2020 vintage was very dry and plagued by wildfires and smoke taint. However, the isolation of Oppenlander, in a hanging valley a dozen miles from the Pacific Ocean and the sweeping Russian River breezes of Hawk’s Roost protected these vineyards from harm. For a drought year, harvest was very late, with the last of these grapes coming into the winery in early October.
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Deep red hues lead one into brambly berry and bright cherry notes on the nose with a great backbone of acidity and firm tannins. This is one of our most structured, Eurocentric and profound offerings of Pinot noir. A wine that will continue to improve with cellaring and pairs well with heartier fare and flavorful cheeses.
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54% Mendocino and 46% Sonoma , 14.3% Alcohol by Volume, 225 cases produced, <.01 residual sugar, 3.5 pH, 6.8 g/L TA, winemaker is Greg La Follette.