2005 Sonoma Coast Vineyards Freestone Hills Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

14.2% alc., 270 cases, $62. Balistreri (4%) and Zephyr (96%) vineyards. Yields one-half to one ton per acre. 75% de-stemmed, 25% whole clusters, 8-10 day cold soak, hand punch downs, fermentation initiated with wild yeast and finished with Assmanhausen yeast. Aged 21 months in 50% new 3-year-old air-dried tight grain French oak barrels. Lightly fined and filtered. · Ripe berries and cherries create a glass-filling presence on the nose. High-collared ripe dark fruit with a riff of herbs and loam and a healthy acidic spine leaving an impression of grapefruit peel on an amazingly long finish. This wine has more cajones, the ripest fruit and the most comforting mouthfeel of any of the other 2005 vintage Pinot Noirs from Sonoma Coast Vineyards. Tasted again the next day from a previously opened re-corked bottle, it was even better portending a long life ahead. Reviewed May 7, 2009

Winery: Sonoma Coast Vineyards
From article: Sonoma Coast Vineyards: West County Pinot Noirs