Harvest dates  September 5 and 8, 2007 Night harvested

Grape Source   Rasmussen Carneros Estate Vineyard on Cuttings Wharf Road in the Napa-Carneros

Barrels    40% new, 60% once-used barrels. Hungarian Oak

Chemistry at bottling:    pH: 3.60    Total Acidity: 5.5 grams/liter    Alcohol: 13.73%   Free Sulfur Dioxide: 27 ppm    Total Sulfur Dioxide: 88 ppm 

Notes:

Harvesting the 2007 Estate Pinot Noir was our first experience with night harvesting. It was an absolute joy; the fruit came in icy cold early in the morning. Having the fruit so cold allowed us to crush directly into the fermentation tanks without any refrigeration or pumping. 2007 was also our first year of trying to go back in time and make the Pinot more like we did in the late 1980s. I have long felt that our wines were stunning in those days, full of fruit and structure and classic Carneros flintiness. In recent years, while the wines were still great, they had moved towards a more classic California jamminess that isn't what I like in a Pinot Noir. Trying to remember what we did and how we did it in 1987 was not easy, looking back at the old records helped a little, but it was a bit hit-or-miss. I picked the grapes at a much lower sugar level, used a much more natural fermentation temperature profile and an old yeast strain that I haven't used in years. The results are spectacular. I think that the 2007 is one of the most complex and long lived Pinot Noirs that I have ever made. I hope you agree and enjoy this wine also.

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