2009 Rosella's Vineyard Pinot Noir

The 2009 vintage at Rosella’s was an interesting one for August West. As the harvest rolled along in the Russian River Valley, and for some vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands, it seemed that by the first week in October, the Pinot at Rosella’s still needed some more hang time. We waited until a large rainstorm was predicted for October 13, and we took our Pisoni and 113 clones the day before, on the 12th. It was the latest we had ever harvested Pinot Noir for August West.

For the second year in a row, the vineyard-designated Rosella’s Pinot for August West consists of exclusively free run wine. This was such a success for us in 2008, we decided we’d try it again in ’09. The nose on the 2009 Rosella’s Pinot is probably the ripest we’ve produced from this vineyard, reminiscent of a Garys’ Vineyard Pinot from 1 mile south. Along with the blackberry pie and red plum nose there’s a loamy earthiness that adds complexity to the fruity aromas. This is a large-scale Pinot on the palate with more weight and tannin than usual for us. Give this wine 2 years to age in the bottle, and it should start opening up by 2012 and drink well through the end of the decade.
 

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