Kent Rasmussen’s Notes

1997 was one of the best years of the decade for superlative Pinot Noir from the Carneros region. It was an odd year however, with an exceptionally warm early spring that led to a very, very early flowering. Growers were terribly worried, that with such an early flowering there would be severe spring frost damage, but the cold weather never came back and we had a nearly frostless spring. As spring gave way into summer the weather stayed very pleasant and mild, and we had one of the most wonderful summers I can ever remember, with lots of 80ish days and few hot spells. The result of the early flowering and a summer made for optimum photosynthesis, was one of the earliest harvest I can remember. Normally early harvests are not desirable because they indicate a short growing season, but with the very early flowering, this wasn’t the case, and the grapes were on the vine for the usual time.

I don’t know if the quality of the 1997 Pinot is due to the sideways-shifted growing season or to the nearly perfect weather through harvest, or just to nature’s good-will, but Carneros Pinot Noir was spectacular, both on the vine and finished into wine. Our 1997 Reserve is without question the best Pinot Noir we have made in many years, with a fruitiness that is both bright and complex, and a structure that is absolutely perfect in the mouth.

This wine was fermented entirely in small bins, each getting punched-down five times a day. We experimented with several new yeast that gave us a variety of fermentation speeds and temperature-curve characteristics. All lots went to dryness in the fermentor, some were pressed quickly, others were left on the skins for up to three weeks. Malolactic fermentation was inoculated at about 5 percent sugar. The wine was allowed to settle for a mere 48 hours before it was transferred to new French oak barrels. The wine was aged in French barrels for 23 months with only one racking. Only free run lots were used in this blend. This wine was not fined and only minimally filtered prior to bottling.

I hope that you enjoy our 1997 Reserve Pinot Noir, I think that it is about as good as Carneros Pinot Noir can get.

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