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Río Este Estate
Tasting Notes
Presenting an elegant nose of black cherry and cinnamon, the bouquet of this estate vineyard wine opens to hints of sandalwood. On the palate, it offers a layered intensity of cherry cola, sandalwood, and allspice, while maintaining a light structure with delicate floral notes. The finish is ethereal with bright acidity.
Vintage Notes
Cooler temperatures and an abundance of spring rains in 2023 pushed back the first day of harvest to the beginning of September. The later start and extra ripening time for the fruit allowed flavors and color to develop slowly for depth and concentration. Warm fall days spread out harvest to the end of October for many of the red varieties, with a final pick of Merlot delivered to the winery on November 2.
Vineyard Notes
Sourced from our 77-acre estate vineyard Rio Este, where we have 26 acres of Pinot Noir planted that sits directly adjacent to the flowing Russian River. The vineyard is planted to a variety of clones, and this vintage of Rio Este Pinot Noir is made from Blocks 2 & 4. This includes clones Wädenswil, a distinctly fruitier Swiss clone of Pinot Noir that lends texture to the wine, and French clone 828, which is naturally darker and denser than traditional Pinot Noir while still offering the bright fruit and acidity attributes well known for the varietal.
Winemaker Notes
Picked in mid-August, the grapes for this artisan Pinot Noir were hand-sorted and de-stemmed, then put whole-berry into open top fermenters. The grapes were kept at low temperatures during their 5-day cold soak, at which point they were inoculated with a yeast strain well known to produce great Burgundian wines. During their 14-day fermentation, gentle punch-downs were performed to keep juice and skins in contact with each other, and once finished, the tank was drained, and only the free-run wine was racked into French oak barrels. Here, it underwent natural malo-lactic fermentation and then stayed in a vessel for the remainder of its elevage. Before bottling, lots were blended together to create a harmonious wine.
