2008 PINOT NOIR - RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY | STARR RIDGE VINEYARD

With a ruby core, this wine offers up generous aromas of cranberry, red cherry, fresh plum and candied red fruit, nicely balanced by deeper tones of cinnamon, leather and earth. The palate echoes the nose, with balanced acidity over lovely, fine-grained tannins. A beautifully structured wine, this release displays lively, refreshing acidity balanced by juicy red fruit flavors.

Located in the cool, breezy hills along the eastern edge of the Russian River AVA boundary, the 24-acre Starr Ridge Vineyard was original planted by Gary and Debbie Farrell in 1996. The 18 acres of Pinot Noir include four unique clones: Pommard Clone, Dijon Clone 114, Dijon Clone 115 and Dijon Clone 777. A higher planting density and low-vigor rootstocks were chosen to balance the soil profile, giving fruit of uncommon depth and complexity that is remarkably consistent year to year.

The 2008 growing season was a roller coaster for growers and winemakers throughout Sonoma County. It began with dry, warm weather that stimulated early growth in the vines. Freezing temperatures during the Spring (down to 23°F in some areas of Sonoma County) causing some frost damage. Excessive heat and high winds arrived during bloom. Things settled down, and we saw slightly above average temperatures, and slightly below average temperatures throughout the summer. From a winemaking perspective, the dry growing season produced the benefit of inducing "moderate stress" on the vines, which limited growth of the canopy and focused the vines' energy on the grapes. The smaller berries and lighter crop load combined to produce beautiful, concentrated fruit flavors.

Grapes were harvested block by block in the cool morning hours, then brought directly to the winery. Extensive sorting of the fruit began in the vineyards, then continued here at the winery to ensure all debris and inferior clusters are removed. The fruit was gently de-stemmed, then transferred to small, open-top tanks with cooling jackets. The juice was chilled to 45 degrees F to delay the onset of fermentation, and allowed to cold soak for five days before fermentation was started. After fermentation, the wine was gently pressed off the skins and seeds, inoculated for malolactic fermentation and racked into French oak barrels (François Frères, Rousseau and Seguin Moreau – 50% new). The wine spent 8 months in barrel, and was racked and returned just once out of barrel before final blending and bottling.