2007 Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir
- Vintage: 2007
- Appellation: Santa Barbara County
- Release Date: May 1, 2009
- Alcohol: 13.75%
Rated 89 Points, Burghound.com
Santa Barbara County has long been recognized as an excellent region for growing Pinot Noir. The ocean fog that blankets the region daily encourages slow and even ripening. The Tepusquet Bench, in the smaller Santa Maria Valley AVA, is home to some of the county’s most notable vineyard sites. One of the best known, Bien Nacido Vineyard, is the source of the 2007 Twomey Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir. This family owned and managed vineyard is farmed by the acre for very low yields. The fruit for this bottling was grown on one of the vineyard’s steepest blocks featuring well-drained sandy clay-loam soils with high decomposed shale content. It was planted in 1996 to the Pommard clone on SO4 rootstock.
Winemaker's Notes
The 2007 Twomey Santa Barbara Pinot Noir is a subtle, complex wine that reflects the cool maritime influence and benchland sandy-clay loam soils infused with decomposed shale of the Bien Nacido Vineyard. It has a red rose petal color and an ethereal nose of Bing cherries, rose water, Turkish Delight and wild mushrooms. On the palate, the wine starts with a burst of tart red berries and builds to reveal rose petal and cranberry characteristics. It has a seamless structure and very fine tannins on the long finish.
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 moderate sized 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. Continued dry weather, a warm spell in early August and a Labor Day warming pattern was followed by cool breezy and foggy conditions which allowed an extra 13 days of ripening. Maximum flavor potential was reached at the start of October in spite of the lower sugar levels. The smaller berries and lower yields produced a seductive wine of great character and finesse.
Winemaking
The fruit was harvested during the cool early morning, transported by refrigerated truck 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. The cap was punched down every six hours to further extract color and aroma. The ferments were allowed to rest on skins to build structure post fermentation for a maximum of four days adding further delicate nuances. Following fermentation, 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 was only racked once to tank for blending and bottling.
