2017 Burnside Vineyard Pinot Noir
Shockingly low yields are essential to achieving proper ripeness in this very cool vineyard. Complex and inviting aromas of caramel candy/toffee, cardamom and licorice spice fold into dried strawberry, red cherry and mocha notes. The 2017 bottling shows richer texture and riper fruit than some years yet retains the savory notes of forest floor and lavender/rosemary that is typical of this vineyard.
The 2017 growing season began in March with cool temperatures and sustained rainfall,
a welcome development after five years of drought. As the rains cleared, sunny and warm conditions prevailed. Flowering began as usual in May, but foggy and windy days caused incomplete pollination, creating small berries with fewer seeds and reduced crop yields. The upside is that small berries provide great flavor concentration and color. A very warm, beautiful summer advanced the growing season by almost two weeks, accelerating our picking to get the grapes into the winery at ideal ripeness. We started harvest August 18th for our sparkling wine and concluded on September 27th, making 2017 the fastest harvest since 2008. Fortunately, our strong farming relationships allowed for perfectly ripe fruit with excellent chemistry. When the fires broke out in Napa and Sonoma on October 8th, we had (along with 90% of Sonoma vineyards) picked all our grapes. 2017 is proving to be a fine year, producing wines of depth, finesse, focused vineyard character and delicious flavors and aromas.
Burnside Vineyard is located just south-west of Sebastopol, on the corner of Watertrough Road and Burnside Road, in an area referred to by locals as the Sebastopol Hills. In one of the coolest areas in Russian River this awesome site is farmed by George Martinelli to a level of quality seen in very few vineyards in California. Goldridge sandy loam soils mark Burnside Vineyard as a superb Pinot Noir site, with a hillside orientation bending to the east for early morning sun exposure. Drawn from two blocks, one of Clone 115 and one of Clone 777, Burnside is an extremely low-yielding site producing very small, intensely flavored berries and clusters.
100% Burgundian French oak barrels (40% new; 60% 1-2-year old)
Bottled without filtration to preserve the wine’s aromas and flavors and enhance aging potential
- Type:
- Red
- Varietal:
- Pinot Noir
- Region:
- California
- Appellation:
- Russian River Valley
- Vintage:
- 2017
- Blend:
- 100% Pinot Noir
- Alcohol:
- 14.2
- Fermentation:
- Multi-yeast fermentations (native yeast, followed by cultured yeast); 100% malo-lactic fermentation in barrel