2015 Reserve Pinot Noir

Description

Winemaking Notes

The 2015 Reserve Pinot Noir has wonderful aromas of dark cherry, plum and dark raspberry accompanied by clove and cinnamon baking spice notes on the palate. The wine is lush and rich, with a silky textured mouthfeel and well-balanced acidity. Enjoy this wine now with roasted root vegetables, mushroom risotto, cedar plank salmon, or cellar for enjoyment over the next few years.

History

Rod Strong was among the first modern wine pioneers with a vision to plant Pinot Noir in the Russian River Valley. In 1968, he planted our heritage River East Vineyard in the alluvial clay-loam soils adjacent to the winery in Healdsburg. Today the Russian River Valley is well established as one of the premier Pinot Noir growing regions in the world, and we continue to rely on the original River East Vineyard as a core contributor to our estate vineyard bottling.

The Vineyards

Storms in late winter filled the soil with water that the vines would need in a few months. Warm days in late winter and early spring induced the Pinot Noir buds to swell during the third week of February, earlier than normal. The weather alternated between cool periods and warm through the summer, with a few heat spikes making the sugars climb at an accelerated pace. Harvest would yield a smaller crop than normal, averaging just over 2 tons per acre. This would be the first Reserve Pinot Noir to come entirely off our Janes Vineyard since the 2008 vintage, concentrating heavily on our oft favored Crinella block. Our 2015 Reserve Pinot Noir was aged in less new French oak barrels than past vintages, but also for a few months longer, in order to showcase the terroir to a higher degree, but still keep the richness that barrel aging imparts.

Trade Assets