Two Creeks Vineyards Pinot Noir 2017

Two Creeks Pinot Noir blends grapes from the Annahala and Apple Barn Estate vineyards in Mendocino County’s Anderson Valley, an appellation renowned for its superb Pinots. Proximity to the Pacific Ocean has a dramatic cooling effect that promotes slow, even ripening. Closer to the coast and sheltered by trees, Annahala is the cooler and foggier vineyard, while Apple Barn is more exposed and enjoys warmer afternoons; both sites share an overlapping mix of nine superior Pinot Noir clones. Grapes were harvested at night to preserve freshness, then hand-sorted and de-stemmed into small open-top tanks for a cold-soak. Fermentation was initiated by native yeasts from the vineyard and completed after inoculation with a cultured yeast strain. Each of 16 vineyard block lots fermented separately, with a small percentage of stems to add spice and complexity. After fermentation, the free-run juice was transferred to French oak barrels, 41% new, for three months before blending. The blended wine aged another ten months in barrel before bottling.