Blend:

100% Pinot Noir from 8 different selections, grown exclusively at Casa Carneros Vineyard.

Finished Wine:

Alcohol: 14.29%
TA: 5.8 g/L
pH: 3.31
Residual Sugar: Dry

Bottling Date:

September 6, 1997

Fruit at Harvest:

Picking Dates: September 15, 21, 24, 28 & October 1 & 2, 1996
Brix: (average): 24.3º
TA: 6.6 g/L
pH: 3.4

Temperature of Fermentation:

80° - 90° F

Total Cases Produced:

600 12 x 750 ml bottle cases

Barrel Aging:

15 months in 50% new French oak barrels, 25% in one-year-old French oak barrels, and 25% in 2-year-old French oak barrels.

Description:

1996 Pinot Noir. A recent 10-year vertical tasting from this vineyard showed it truly coming into its own by 1995. It was finally showing its "typicity" or "sense of place". The 1996 Pinot Noir was one of the most wonderful wines tasted in this vertical. It has luscious, lively fruit with an elegance and opulence of the vintage. This is a sexy, fleshy wine with depth and complexity. Kurt really does not want to part with these wines! And we have very little available to sell. 2 bottle limit please, until supplies are gone.

This wine was fermented in small, half-ton bins, a small scale approach to winemaking that ultimately produces a rich, complex and extracted Pinot Noir. This is a wine with layers of dense fruit balanced by firm tannins with the structure and velvety texture that is the hallmark of a fine Pinot Noir.