2007 PINOT NOIR - RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY / STARR RIDGE VINEYARD

The 24 acre Starr Ridge Vineyard has an easterly orientation and is located in the cool, breezy hills just east of the Russian River and southwest of the town of Windsor. After careful research, four clones of Pinot Noir were selected for planting: Pommard clone 4, Dijon clone 114, Dijon clone 115 and Dijon clone 777. The vines were planted to a high density on low vigor rootstock ideally suited to the site’s soil type.

2007 was another example of our region’s remarkable consistency. The short rainy season with less than usual amounts of rain, coupled with the warm spring temperatures led to an early bud break. Subtle spring heat spikes and wind conditions contributed to a relatively light crop which in turn resulted in smaller berries showing very intense flavor and great color. Once bud break occurred, our weather steadied, making for near perfect ripening conditions which lasted all the way through harvest. It certainly appears that the 2007 vintage from the Russian River Valley will turn out to be one of significant depth and concentration. The selected clones grown in different microclimates and soils at Starr Ridge Vineyard were handpicked at approximately 24.2 degrees brix during the early cool morning. The fruit was then hand sorted, de-stemmed and moved to fermenters uncrushed for a 5-day cold soak. The grapes were inoculated with Assmanshausen yeast for primary fermentation with regular punch-downs, then went through malolactic fermentation and matured in a combination of new (47%) and a combination of 1 and 2 year old French oak barrels for 9.5 months before bottling.