Aromas of ripe black cherry, boysenberry and black plum with lifted notes of violets and savoury toasty oak. A full-bodied rich wine with well integrated tannins, firm acidity and intense concentration. Ripe black cherry and dark plums dominate the palate, supported by a subtle hint of rich coffee and chocolaty silky tannin. French oak lends elegance, structural support and savoury smoky notes.
Tasted Oct 2008 - Omaka fruit but not from a single vineyard – hotter, so thicker skins, and wine more backward. Aged in 68% new, 32% seasoned oak. A little reductive, sweet spiced smoky oak. Strongly oaky on the palate and less perfumed but maybe with more time it will become more open and aromatic? Very smooth, quite powerful, dense but lovely freshness to balance. (JH)
Web Only 2012 - Plush cherry and berry flavors have a tight focus, fanning out with spicy, toasty cedar and oak notes. Smooth and supple, offering ripe fruit flavors on the finish. Drink now through 2016. 1,000 cases made. –MW
Sept/Oct 2008 by Stephen Tanzer - Good full red. Dark fruits, sexy oak spices and a meaty nuance on the nose. Dense and sappy in the mouth, with tangy red berry flavors complemented by aromatic oak spices. Offers a lovely combination of richness, perfume and lift and finishes with very good spicy persistence.
Delicately scented wine with rich cherry, plum and spice and savoury, toasty flavours. Serious Pinot Noir that deserves to be enjoyed with food. Should age well, at least in the medium term.
The grapes were carefully transported to the winery for de-stemming, then fruit was must chilled to small open top stainless steel fermenters. Each batch of fruit was cold soaked for four to five days to help extract maximum flavour and to enhance colour stability. Cultured yeasts were employed to carry out the primary alcoholic fermentation and the fermenting must was hand plunged up to six times daily. At dryness each batch was pressed to tank and then racked off gross lees to a mixture of 69 per cent new and 31 per cent seasoned French oak. Each batch was inoculated for malolactic fermentation and aged for 10 months on lees before being selected for this blend. The final wine was stabilized, lightly egg white fined and prepared for bottling.
