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This is our sixth vintage of Pinot Noir from our estate vineyard, Fe Ciega. The growing season was characterized throughout with moderate daytime temperatures, which enabled the grapes to hang on the vine until the third week of September before being harvested. Our strict selection standards in the vineyard reduced our yield to just 2.3 tons per acre. We were more than amply rewarded for our diligence with the spectacular wine that was produced. This vintage has the concentration and power similar to the 2002 and 2004 Fe Ciega wines, but also has some of the elegance of the 2003 and 2005 vintages that the 2002 and 2004 wines did not seem to have in their youth.

The wine has an unusually dark color for Pinot Noir, giving us an early clue to its intensity. The aromas are of sweet dark cherries with a hint of Fe Ciega’s characteristic coastal sage in the background. On the palate the wine is immediately rich, thick with texture and flavor. The tannins are smooth and velvety, and the oak flavors are perfectly integrated into the wine. Despite being as rich as it is, the wine is still relatively closed in because of its youth. Decanting this wine or opening it an hour before serving will allow it to breathe and open up.

This Pinot Noir will pair nicely with a wide variety of foods from rich seafood to wild game such as duck. I hope you will share my enthusiasm for this vintage of Fe Ciega as being one of the best ever from our vineyard, and possibly one of the best of the 2006 vintage from Santa Rita Hills and beyond.

Rick Longoria, Winemaker
June 1, 2008

Composition: 100% Pinot Noir
Vineyard source: Fe Ciega
Production: 860 cases
Alcohol by volume: 14.6%
pH: 3.57
Titratible acidity: .59 g/100 ml.
Cellaring potential: Five to eight years
Bottle price: $54.00

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