Region: America / California / Mendocino County

Over the past decade, Cakebread Cellars has expanded its interest in Pinot Noir. In 2001, the winery developed the 46-acre Apple Barn vineyard in Mendocino County’s Anderson Valley. Planted to six distinguished Pinot Noir clones, this vineyard has produced outstanding grapes since 2004. In 2011, the highly regarded Annahala Vineyard was acquired a half-mile west of Apple Barn, with 60 acres and eight high-quality clones of Pinot Noir. Grapes are night harvested to ensure fresh, expressive fruit is picked. Each clone is fermented separately to maximize its distinct characteristics and complexity. The fruit is handled gently and is cold-soaked prior to fermentation to optimize the extraction of color and tannins, and to accentuate a “fruit-forward” personality. The juice is fermented in small open-top tanks with the cap of skins at the top of the tanks gently punched down to fully extract color and flavor while limiting aeration. After fermentation is complete, the wines go through extended maceration on their skins for several more weeks, with daily monitoring of color and tannin development. After pressing off the wines from their skins, they’re transferred to French oak barrels which are carefully matched to each lot’s flavor and texture profile. The wines are aged in barrel until the following spring, the lots are blended and barrel-aged another 6-7 months before bottling in late summer.

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• about the grape +
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    Pinot Noir

    In France, makes a silky, deceptively powerful wine of elegant, complex aromas and subtle, red fruit flavors, with earthy, floral, mushroom and mineral notes. In California, shows ripe, sweet characters.