Pinot Noir - Magnum 2019
Home Block
After almost two decades of making wine in the Okanagan Valley, this time we are going deep with one varietal from one place, the Naramata Bench.
The wine has a light ruby hue with aromas of dried cherry, worn leather, and black licorice (the legit European kind). Intense, mouth-filling dark blackberry with depth and flavour from integrated oak aging balanced by fresh acidity from the cooler vintage. Culminates with an incredibly long finish of brandied cherry and cedar spices.
91 Points, Anthony Gismondi
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Wine Specs
Vintage
2019
Varietal
Pinot Noir
Appellation
Naramata Bench, Okanagan Valley
Harvest Date
October 7 & 15, 2019
Acid
6.0 g/L
pH
3.82
Residual Sugar
1.3 g/L
Alcohol %
13.5
Wine Profile
Vineyard Notes
This is Naramata Bench personified. Perched on glacial lake formed bluffs above Okanagan Lake, the crescent shaped site tilts SW, maximizing heat units and allowing air flow. Set into an amphitheatre of old growth sage, soils are silt and loam with calcareous elements similar to some of the best vineyards in the world. Planted in 2013, we chose to focus on a single clone, Dijon #115. Now as the vineyard matures, we are enjoying watching the evolution of the vines and the resultant wines.
Winemaker Notes
This project is all about focus: Pinot Noir. Hand picked in two passes October 7 & 15th, then hand sorted and fermented as whole berries with 20% as whole clusters. The main ferment was completed in large French Oak tanks and then aged in these plus 50% neutral barrels. Unfiltered and unfined.
Other Notes
2019 was a year where ‘cold climate viticulture’ was a reality. A cold snap in February, caused bud damage that reduced crops across the whole valley, but particularly Pinot Noir. Come spring, delayed shoots caught up but summer rains kept temperatures lower than usual. Sustained heat in August allowed us to reach full ripeness right before September rains and an early frost. For the vines, it meant a much lighter yield than normal, but fortunately less is more when it comes to grape quality.
