Technical Details

Composition:
100% Pinot Noir

Vineyard Sources:
100% Fe Ciega Vineyard

Production: 616 cases
Alcohol by volume: 14.2%
pH: 3.61
Titratable acidity: .55g/100ml.
Cellaring potential: 3-5 years
Bottle price: $48.00

We are pleased to release our 2008 Pinot Noir from our Estate Vineyard, Fe Ciega. This wine is always the last of our Pinot Noirs to be released because of the intense, closed in nature of the wine. However, in recent comparative tastings I have had with several previous vintages of Fe Ciega Pinot Noir, this 2008 vintage seems to be a bit more open and approachable than most.

The wine is a blend of the three clones we have planted in the vineyard;Pommard, Dijon 115 and 667. The individual lots were fermented and aged separately in French oak barrels for 11 months before being blended and put back into the barrels to age as a whole for an additional 3 months. The new oak component was 28%.

The wine has a medium ruby color with aromas that are a complex mixture of cherries, dried herbs, thyme and sage. On the palate it is medium bodied with a soft, rich, viscous texture. The flavors are of cherries accented with dried herbs. The acidity is well balanced and the finish has a sweet slightly candied quality to it.

Although this vintage of Fe Ciega is more approachable than many of our previousvintages, it would still benefit from being opened 30-60 minutes prior to serving,or being decanted.

Serve this wine with a variety of foods including salmon, veal, sweetbreads and traditionally prepared turkey with stuffing.

Rick Longoria, Winemaker
October 1, 2010

Technical Details

Composition:
100% Pinot Noir

Vineyard Sources:
Bien Nacido Vineyard

Production: 150 cases
Alcohol by volume: 14.8%
pH: 3.58
Titratable acidity: .58 g/100 ml.
Cellaring potential: Three to five years
Bottle price: $$45

I am pleased to release our Bien Nacido Vineyard Pinot Noir from the highly successful 2009 vintage. High temperatures at the end of August sped up the ripening of the fruit. This resulted in an earlier harvest on September 8^th, about ten days earlier than our historical average, and at a sugar level of 24.8 Brix.

The grapes were 100% destemmed and crushed into small, open-top fermenters. After a four day cold soak period, the must was inoculated. The wine was pressed off after a total of 18 days on the skins.  It was aged in French oak barrels, of which 30% were new. After 10 months of barrel aging the wine was lightly fined, filtered and bottled.

The wine has a beautiful ruby color with light purple edges. The aromas are a complex mixture of earthy, forest floor, bark, and dried cherries. On the palate it has flavors of cherries and tobacco with hints of boysenberry in the background. The body is rich, but still has some silky tannins and great acidity.  This combination gives the wine great balance between the fruit and tannins with a long, lingering finish. This is one of the more complex and elegantly balanced vintages of Bien Nacido Pinot Noir that we have produced.

Enjoy with wild game, beef shanks, and pork dishes.

Technical Details

Composition:
100% Pinot Noir

Vineyard Sources:
Rancho Santa Rosa Vineyard

Production: 110 cases
Alcohol by volume: 13.4%
pH: 3.55
Titratable acidity: 0.58 g/mL
Cellaring potential: 3 to 5 years
Bottle price: $45

The 2009 growing season was nearly ideal. Although there was some hot weather in early September, it was not severe enough to cause any over-ripening issueswith the Pinot Noir. The fruit was sourced from a block of the vineyard composed of a clay loam soil, on a west facing slope. It is made up entirely of the Dijon 667 clone which typically produces hearty and robust wine.

The grapes were harvested on September 22nd at a relatively low sugar level of 22.8° Brix. After a three day cold soak period, the must was inoculated. We experimented by using about 12% whole clusters in one of the bins. This technique added a spicy quality to the aromatics, and a tannic edge to the texture of the wine. The grapes were pressed off after fourteen days in the fermenter, and then transferred to French oak barrels, of which about 30% were new. Thewine was fined, filtered and bottled in late August, 2010.

The wine has a beautiful, dark ruby color with almost black edges. The aromas are a complex mix of spices including cinnamon, and briary blackberry. On the palate, the wine displays deep, rich flavors of ripe cherries and a hint of sweet pipe tobacco. The finish has a slight tannic edge which should soften with two to three years of bottle aging.This wine’s excellent acidity, and relatively low alcohol content, has resulted in one of the most balanced wines we have produced from the outstanding grapes at Rancho Santa Rosa Vineyard.

This wine will pair well with lighter meats such as veal, rabbit, pork, chicken and turkey.

Technical Details

Composition:
100% Pinot Noir

Vineyard Sources:
100% Fe Ciega Vineyard

Production: 605 cases
Alcohol by volume: 14.2%
pH: 3.58
Titratable acidity: .60g/ml
Cellaring potential: 6-8 years
Bottle price: $48.00

We are pleased to release yet another outstanding vintage of Pinot Noir from our Estate Vineyard, Fe Ciega. The crop yield was identical to the yield in 2008 at 2.7 tons per acre. The weather was relatively mild throughout the growing season until just prior to harvest when our area experienced a week long period of higher than normal temperatures. We were able to respond quickly and began the three day harvest on September 5th with an average sugar level of 24.5 Brix.

The grapes were 100% destemmed and crushed into small open top fermenters. After a three day cold soak period, the must was inoculated and fermentation lasted an average of 12 days. The wine was pressed off into stainless steel tanks, settled for a period of several days and then racked into French oak barrels to age for 15 months. Only 30% of the barrels were new to preserve the integrity of the fruit, rather than having the wine become dominated by oak flavors and tannins.

The wine has a medium-dark ruby color with hints of purple on the edges. The aromas are a complex mixture of herbs, sage, tobacco, redwood and cedar with hints of cherries in the background. On the palate the wine is medium bodied with flavors of black cherries and the earthy elements found in the aroma. The aromas and flavors of our Pinot Noir from Fe Ciega Vineyard are characteristically far more earthy than fruity in nature. 

           Because of the youth, the flavors are somewhat restrained by the moderately extracted and silky tannins. As the wine ages in the bottle, the tannins will soften allowing the flavors to come through. The acidity is well balanced and the oak integration is seamless with the fruit of the wine.

           This wine will benefit from aeration, therefore decanting or opening 30-60 minutes prior to serving is recommended. It will pair well with a wide variety of foods including crispy duck confit with a red wine reduction, veal cheeks and pork dishes.

Technical Details

Composition:
100% Pinot Noir

Vineyard Sources:
94% Fe Ciega Vineyare
6% Bien Nacido Vineyard

Production: 360 cases
Alcohol by volume: 13.8%
pH: 3.66
Titratable acidity: .53g/ml
Cellaring potential: Three to five years
Bottle price: $32

We are pleased to release another outstanding bottling of our popular Lovely Rita Pinot Noir. I believe the 2010 vintage in Santa Barbara County is on par with the stellar 2009 vintage. Both seasons had mild weather leading up to the harvest with some hot days in early September, which raised the sugar levels if the grapes were left on the vine too long. Our style calls for harvesting our grapes at moderate sugar levels, so the Pinot Noir grapes from Fe Ciega Vineyard for the Lovely Rita blend were harvested September 16th and 17th, at an average of 23.2 Brix.

Two thirds of the blend was fermented in our Ganimedes fermenter and the balance in an open top fermenter. The highly aromatic and soft wine produced in the Ganimedes tank combined with the more structured wine produced in the open top fermenter produced an elegant and complex Pinot Noir.

The wine was aged in French oak barrels for 11 months with about 20% of the barrels being new. The wine was fined and filtered before bottling on September 1st.

The color is a medium dark ruby with purple edges. The forward nose of the wine has aromas of spices, bark and raspberries with a subtle herbal element in the background. On the palate, the wine is medium weight with fleshy flavors of raspberries and cranberries. The oak component is well balanced with the fruit of the wine. The tannins are moderate and indicate the wine will benefit from several years of cellaring.

This wine will pair well with pepper encrusted sea bass, salmon, pork and finer cuts of beef.