2009 Graham Family Vineyard Pinot Noir

2009 was our sixth vintage of making Pinot Noir from the Graham Family Vineyard. As usual, it was another low-yielding year for the Graham Pinot, with only 2.2 tons per acre harvest. Ironically, this was the 2nd largest crop ever produced at Graham, coming in behind the prolific 2006 vintage. With the perfect weather conditions throughout the season, we started picking Graham in the third week in September and finished by the end of the month.

This was the first Graham Family Vineyard Pinot we’ve made at August West that consisted entirely of free run wine. This is the wine that comes from the fermentation vessel freely, before the pomace goes to the press. Free run wine is usually more concentrated with fruit than the press wine, so the resulting ’09 Graham is packed with ripe Russian River Valley berry fruit, and has more weight, color and tannin than previous vintages. Expect this 2009 Graham Family Vineyard Pinot Noir to drink well from late 2011 through 2017.
 

---