58% Olivet Grange Vineyard and 42% Thorn Road Ranch

Harvest went very smoothly, for the most part, in 2006. Although many vineyards were badly affected by botrytis, our estate vineyard, Olivet Grange (clones 114, 115, 667 and 777) had very little rot and what little there was, was removed when the grapes were still on the vine. Vintage 2006 was the first time we had purchased fruit from our friend Ted Klopp’s Thorn Road Ranch which is in the Sebastopol hills. This steep vineyard is planted to several different clones and we are allocated Pommard, Swan, 667 and 777 from both the upper and lower ranches on this steep, eastern facing vineyard.

Our Russian River Valley blend was created from lots of Olivet Grange (58%) and Thorn Road (42%) which were picked on September 19, 25, 27 and October 2. The entire October 2 pick formed the back bone for the blend; none of that late pick was used in the 2006 OGV Pinot Noir. All of the lots were destemmed and fermented in open-top 5-ton stainless steel tanks. The various lots were cold soaked for 4 days and during the fermentation they were punched down three times daily, with the exception of the Thorn Road lot, which suffered badly from botrytis. The Thorn fruit was fermented more quickly and the must was adjusted with water, acid and nutrients because of the botrytis, which is not our normal protocol, but one I felt was required for a successful fermentation. The Thorn also received one daily pump over and two punch downs. The lots were all pressed off when dry and aged in a combination of new, one year and two year old barrels. Because of the blending to tank in February 2007 and the return to different barrels, the exact new oak ratio is not possible, but approximately 50% of the wine's 11 month elevage was in new French Oak – Sirugue, Billon, Remond and Mercurey. The wines were kept on their lees, even after blending, and stirred weekly between October and February and every other week until they were moved to tank for bottling. The wines were filtered by crossflow and bottled on August 21, 2007.

The flavors echo the aromas with sweet cherry, strawberry, and vanilla. Secondary flavors include roasted meat and savory herbs, dried cranberries, caramel and baking spices - cloves, nutmeg and ginger. The texture is voluptous and fills your mouth while the acid perks up the taste buds and give the wine a "salivacious" quality. The finish is long and complex.