Vintage 2003
The roller-coaster 2003 growing season in Napa Valley
began with an unusually warm March followed by depressingly cold, rainy
weather in April, which set back vine development and reduced yields
on early ripening varieties like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Fortunately,
summer weather was picture-perfect, with an ideal balance of cool mornings
and warm afternoons, no rainfall, and a few brief heat spikes in September
to accelerate ripening. These conditions enabled our Carneros region
Pinot Noir grapes to achieve full physiological maturity while retaining
excellent level of natural acidity.
Vineyards
The grapes for this wine came from several outstanding
vineyards in the Carneros district of Napa Valley, a renowned cool-climate
region benefiting from breezes and fog from nearby San Pablo Bay. We
prize these sites for the long, cool growing season they enjoy, their
clonal diversity (multiple clones of a grape variety foster greater
wine complexity), and the intensity of flavor we get from their fruit.
In 2003, 40% of the grapes came from our Foster Road estate vineyard,
which is planted to French Dijon clones that produce wines with impressively
concentrated black fruit flavors. In 2003, harvest was from September
2nd to September 17th.
Winemaking
Gentle handling of the fruit, moderate fermentation temperatures,
and minimal manipulation of the wine during barrel aging are the hallmarks
of our approach to Pinot Noir. In 2003, our Carneros fruit was de-stemmed
but not crushed, then cold soaked at 500 F. for 72 hours. This helps
extract color and flavor from the grapes before alcoholic fermentation
begins, leading to more stable color in the wine. We then inoculated
the must with a cultured yeast, controlling temperatures to ensure a
slow, active fermentation. Small open- and closed-top tanks were used
to facilitate both the traditional Burgundian method of punching down
the cap, and the more conventional pump-over technique. After fermentation,
the wines macerated on the skins for several weeks, checked daily for
color and softening of tannins. They were then drained from the tanks,
inoculated for malolactic fermentation and put into French oak barrels,
52% new, where they aged undisturbed for 14 months before being removed
for final blending and bottling.
Tasting Notes
Our 2003 Carneros Pinot Noir displays complex, beguiling
aromas of smoky black cherry and fig fruit with intriguing floral and
Asian spice tones. In the mouth, the flavors are juicy and mouth-filling,
with a pleasing tea-like spiciness in the long, rich finish. Delicious
now, this lovely Pinot Noir will develop further complexity with several
years' additional bottle age.
