2006 PINOT NOIR - RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY / HALLBERG DIJON CLONES

The 100-acre Hallberg Vineyard is named for previous owners Don and Marcia Hallberg and today is owned by a small group of investors headed by Brice Jones, formerly of Sonoma Cutrer. The vineyard is meticulously farmed by Kirk Lokka, also a veteran of Sonoma Cutrer, and the commitment to quality of the current owners coupled with the site’s exceptional soils give this property boundless potential.

The 2006 growing season saw a cool spring followed by a cool summer punctuated with a heat wave in July, and a relatively late harvest. These Dijon Clone 777 grapes from Block M of Hallberg Vineyard were picked at 24.0 degrees brix during the cool night in late September. The fruit was then hand sorted, de-stemmed and moved to fermenters uncrushed for a 5-day cold soak, then fermented in small stainless steel tanks with regular punch-downs. The wine underwent malolactic fermentation and matured in a combination of new and 1-year-old French oak barrels for over 13 months before bottling.

The 2006 Hallberg Vineyard Dijon Clone Pinot Noir is potent, yet elegant, with deep color and rich blackberry, black cherry and cardamom aromas and supple berry and spice flavors with firm tannins that bode well for extended cellaring. Like our other Hallberg Pinot Noir, this boldly-flavored red pairs beautifully with rack of lamb with fresh rosemary