2007 Russian River Pinot Noir
- Vintage: 2007
- Appellation: Russian River Valley
- Release Date: May 1, 2009
- Alcohol: 14.1%
- Composition: 100% Pinot Noir
Rated 90 Points, Burghound.com
Twomey’s Pinot Noir originated in the Russian River Valley, an appellation legendary for its extraordinary Pinot Noir. The nine acre West Pin vineyard is an excellent site for this temperamental grape, with a climate that’s cool enough to preserve its delicate character but warm enough to ripen the fruit consistently
each year. The vineyard is planted with a mix of Dijon and Pommard clones,
each contributing different characteristics to the final blend.
In 2006 we also began sourcing Pinot Noir from Crinella Vineyard in Forestville, where cooler temperatures and fine, sandy loam soils produce wines of extraordinary delicacy. This vineyard, also planted with a mixture of clones, heightens the complexity of our Russian River Pinot Noir and provides a wonderful counterpoint to the fruit from our West Pin Vineyard.
Winemaker's Notes
The 2007 Twomey Russian River Valley Pinot Noir beautifully expresses the ripe style of this iconic American Pinot Noir region. This wine has a deep, ruby color and a nose of rose petals, strawberries, black cherry and cola. It is full bodied and rich on the palate with flavors of black cherry liqueur and cinnamon, closing with a full, velvety finish of fine grained tannins and a supple elegance which this region is renowned for.
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 in August.
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 13 months sur lies in 100% French Burgundy barrels, 50% new and racked only once for blending and bottling.
