Pacific Ridge Vineyards

2005 Pinot Noir Santa Barbara County

93 Point Rating from Word Press!

Cuvee of wine from multiple Santa Barbara County vineyards.

Mostly cool, windy conditions at these locations are optimal for growing Pinot Noir.  This blend has combined aspects of multiple premium vineyards in the same general area.

Aged in a combination of neutral and newer French oak for 14 months:
30% in 2 year old barrels
40% in 3 year old barrels
20% in 1 year old barrels
10% in new barrel
Coopers:  Cadus, Seguin Moreau, Demptos
Forests:  Center of France, Vosges with medium toast

The winemaking of this delicate fruit was approached with the idea of using more than one method to achieve greater structure and sophistication.  Pinot Noir from four vineyards was included in the final blend.  Whole cluster fermentation was used with only a portion of the fruit, a fermentation of intact clusters as picked from the vine with no intervention of machines – all stems and berries are intact.  This technique contributed to achieving a wine of greater complexity.

After fermentation, the wine was handled with the least possible intervention.  Racking was minimized, and no fining was performed before a light filtration.

241 cases produced

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