Hawley Reserve Pinot Noir 2006, Green Valley

Vineyards

The grapes for this Hawley Pinot Noir (clone 115) came from a small vineyard located in Green Valley. Green Valley is a sub-appellation of the Russian River Valley appellation and is characterized by it's cold climate and coastal influence. The 2006 growing season began with a late, wet Spring. September rains caused a lot of worry and botrytis mold damaged many vineyards. We were lucky and had no botrytis problems. This slowed ripening and the additional “hang time” on the vine led to exceptional flavor development. In 2006, the Pinot Noir crop was less than two tons per acre, resulting in extremely concentrated flavors. Brix at harvest 24.5

Winemaking

The ripe fruit was de-stemmed and crushed into small one-ton open-top fermentors and chilled using dry ice. After a week of cold maceration, the must was allowed to warm up and wild yeasts began fermentation. A small inoculum of yeast was added to control the fermentation. At dryness, the skins were pressed out using a 100 year old manual basket press to ensure astringent characters are not pressed out. The wine is pressed directly into French Burgundy barrels (75% new) and aged for 20 months. We bottle age for one year before release of our reserve Pinot Noir.

Appellation: Green Valley
Varietal Composition: 100% Pinot Noir
Harvest Dates: September 27 2006
Alcohol: 13.9%
Bottling Date: February 12, 2008
Cases Bottled: 97
Release Date: April 1, 2009

Tasting Notes

This Pinot Noir shows complex aromas of coffee and vanilla to complement the deep cherry and raspberry flavors from the grapes. In the mouth the wine is rich and opulent, with generous ripe fruit flavors and a long, silky-smooth finish. This wine will continue to improve for many years to come.