2016 Black Knight Vineyard Pinot Noir

Description

Tasting Notes

The wine displays a brilliant garnet color.  Expressive aromas are of black plum, mulberry, black tea, earth and a touch of anise and violets.  The wine evolves with every sip revealing balance and structure with a finish of tart cherry, cedar and volcanic minerals.  The wine goes well with food or on its own and should age a decade or more.

Winemaking

The wine is a blend of Dijon 777, 667 and 115 clones.  Harvest was on separate days for each of the clones.   The grapes were destemmed into open top fermenters.  A cold soak followed by a slight inoculation of wine yeast allowed native yeasts to survive well into the fermentation. Punch downs were twice a day. The wine was pressed into French oak barrels, one of five being new, and aged for 11 months before bottling. The wine was racked once prior to bottling.

Black Knight Vineyard – Sonoma Coast AVA

The Black Knight Vineyard is situated at high elevation in the southeast of the Sonoma Coast AVA due east of the Petaluma Gap.  The high elevation, morning fog and a cool afternoon breeze keep the grapes cool and make for a relatively long growing season.  The fog often covers the vineyard into the afternoon.  The grapes are grown utilizing organic practices.

Numerous Pinot Noir clones are planted, including Pommard and Dijon 115, 667 and 777.