2012 Pinot Noir – LIBRARY SELECTION 1 bottle limit

It is with great fanfare that we announce the release of our 2012 Central Coast Pinot Noir. While the 2010 and 2011 were considerably more rustic and old world, the 2012 returns to a style reminiscent of the 2007. Big, bold, rich, and racy. This is an Aston-Martin compared to the previous Bentleys. And I have to say, one of the cool things about being responsible for making wines for a tiny company is being able to change styles mid-stream. Try different things to see what works. We just felt it was time to take advantage of a good vintage and see if we could push the envelope a little.

This vintage is a blend of grapes from two vineyards on the Central Coast: The Garey Ranch Vineyard located in the Santa Maria Valley, and The Prado Vineyard located deep in Pine Canyon in Monterey County. It is truly a blend of the best the Central Coast has to offer. The Prado Vineyard delivers soft, earthy components to the blend while the Garey Ranch Pinot provides sharp red fruits and acid. The Prado Vineyard saw almost all new French oak barrels in the blend while the Garey Ranch fruit spent two years in a mix of 3 year old French oak barrels. The choice of Chateauroux oak for the new wood provided a delicate, sweet component to blend into the main lot. It was important for us to finish a wine that respects the pure Pinot fruit. Bear in mind this wine is UNFILTERED. A little lees is expected when racking out of barrel so there is a very good chance that the wine will be A LITTLE HAZY. Consider this a bonus.

Cherry and gunpowder aromas with a delicate hint of cedar from the new oak. Flavors of cherry pie-filling and Jolly Rancher candies. The wine expands in the mouth in traditional Pinot form and wraps around the tongue with flavors suspended on a lively platform of acidity. Lush and velvety flavors hang on the palate. This wine is pure Pinot and will pair with traditional Pinot foods. Our favorite pairing is with salmon although duck and other game fowl are SUPERB choices. Lamb and pork (the other white meat) are great.