2007 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
- Vintage: 2007
- Appellation: Sonoma Coast
- Release Date: May 1, 2009
- Alcohol: 13.6%
Rated 90 Points, Burghound.com
Rated 90 Points, Wine & Spirits
The Sonoma Coast is a large AVA in western Sonoma County defined by the Russian River’s final run to the Pacific. The 2007 Twomey Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir is sourced from two vineyards: Crinella and McDougall Ranch. Crinella Vineyard is located in Forestville in the central part of the appellation. It’s a cool,
foggy site that overlaps three AVA’s: Sonoma Coast, Russian River Valley and Green
Valley. The undulating terrain is mostly south-facing and features fine sandy-loam,
gravelly soils. The 2007 bottling features a mixture of Pinot Noir clones and selections, including Calera, Pommard and Swan. McDougall Ranch is in the northwestern corner of the appellation, which hugs the Pacific coastline and abuts the Mendocino AVA. It is situated two mountain ridges east of the Pacific Ocean near the little town of Duncan Mills. The ridges protect the site from fog, as does
its 1200 foot elevation. This gently sloping, south-facing hillside vineyard has gravelly-loam soils with moderate to low vigor. The site is planted to clones 114 and 115.
Winemaker's Notes
This wine is an extraordinary example of the wines produced in this wild, wind-swept, extremely cool appellation. It has a vibrant, light ruby color and a nose of dried rose petals, strawberry/raspberry puree, and a hint of cardamom. On the palate the structure is elegant, with lively well-balanced acidity that builds to a nuanced crescendo of crème brulee, mocha and chocolate-covered cherries. It has an extremely long finish of fine grained tannins and fresh rose petals.
Vintage Description
The 2007 vintage started out cool and dry, with less than an inch of rain in January. The dry weather continued into spring, with warm temperatures pushing bloom and budbreak ahead of their typical schedule giving way to a small but concentrated crop. The drier than normal soil conditions resulted in smaller berries and a 15-20% decrease in crop size. Summer weather was mild, with temperatures rarely exceeding 90 degrees. The lack of fog influence from the Pacific Ocean coupled with warm, dry weather resulted in ideal flavor development and an early harvest beginning September 1st.
Winemaking
The fruit was harvested during the cool early mornings and rigorously sorted and destemmed immediately. Whole clusters were added to open-top fermentors and the must underwent a seven-day cold soak to gently extract the grapes’ delicate flavors and color. Each clone was fermented separately to allow the greatest expression of each vineyard. The cap was punched down every six hours to further extract color and aroma at the height of fermentation. In late September, the free run juice was drained and the wine was gently pressed off the skins, decanted to barrel by gravity. The wine was aged for 12 months sur lies in 100% French Burgundy barrels, 40% new and racked only once for blending and bottling.
