Vintage Summary

Although this is an appellation wine, this Pinot Noir comes from a single vineyard in the heart of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Located at about 1000 ft. in elevation, this southeastern facing 2 acre block was planted in 1997, and has been farmed by us since 2016. It is dry- farmed, no-till, and organic, and is located in a canyon in the Glenwood area surrounded by second growth redwoods, bay trees, and coast live oaks. It is steep, about 30% slopes, and grown on clay loam soils weathered from Purisima Mudstone. The 2020 growing season gave was one of the most challenging and difficult years we’ve experienced as growers. Very little precipitation in the winter followed by a mild spring with below average flowering conditions as a result of the June fog. Late season heat waves starting in mid-August thru late September we’re severe, but the grapes survived the less than ideal conditions for a harvest on September 27, 2020.

Winemaking

The grapes were picked by hand, sorted in the field. At the winery the grapes were sorted again directly into the press for a very light pressing to avoid any skin contact. The juice was cold settled overnight and racked directly into barrels for spontaneous fermentation. After 12 months in barrel the wine was racked off its lees back into barrels for an additional 6 months aging before being bottled unfined/unfiltered. Bottled April 16th, 2022.

Wine Stats

Brix at harvest: 22.0

Titratable Acidity: 5.4 g/L

pH: 3.59

Residual Sugar: 0.0 g/L

Alcohol: 12.6%