2018 Foretell Pinot Noir

Notes: “Dark red fruit aromas are buoyed by bright minerality and freshness mingled with layers of warm baking spices and floral notes.  The 2018 Foretell Pinot Noir leaps out of the glass with the intense personality that vineyard is known for.  With a candied edge to the fruit on the palate, the rich structure is layered and elegant maintaining the distinct pinot noir character while showcasing the boldness that mountain grown wine can possess.  This wine drinks beautifully now and will benefit from another 4-6 years of ageing.”

-Sam Baxter, Winemaker and Proprietor

Property:  Cinghiale Vineyard
Appellation:  Fort Ross-Seaview, Sonoma County
Clonal Selections:  clone 828 and 777
Site: West facing rocky slopes at 1500 feet elevation facing the Pacific Ocean only 4 miles away
Yield: 1.5 tons/acre

Growing Season: The near-perfect 2018 growing season started early, saw ideal weather conditions throughout and wrapped up as the first significant heat arrived later in the season. Thanks to a relatively steady and mild July and August and then a series of warm days at the end of the growing season, vineyards were able to progress to perfect ripeness.

Harvest  Date: Septmeber, 2018
Harvest Brix:   26.0° brix

Winemaking

Hand-harvested, picked at night
De-stemmed whole berry to tank
72 hour cold soak at 55° F
Fermented with indigenous yeast for 11 days with 14 days of total maceration
Free run drained by gravity for 12 hours and press fraction blended away
Aged 12 months sur lie   in French oak barrels, then racked 3 months prior to bottling
Coopers: 60% new French oak, Nadalie Medium Plus tight grain
Un-fined and lightly filtered; bottle 2019