TASTING NOTES

A lovely, silky Pinot Noir showing black cherry, cassis and cocoa aromas and flavors with nuances of nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom, along with a judicious vanillin note from the French oak barrels. It is beautifully balanced and shows the signature Pinot character of the Russian River Valley region in its best possible interpretation.

WINEMAKER NOTES

The vineyard is farmed in the most meticulous fashion. Farming protocol at Lala Panzi includes stringent canopy management, manual tilling and weed control, micro-management of ripening assessment, and ultimately a quick, early morning harvest at the best possible balance. Five Pinot Noir clones are planted: 114, 115, 667, and the 777 clones from the University of Dijon in Burgundy, and the traditional Pommard selection from UC Davis. The extraordinary fruit is sorted vigorously in the vineyard, and trucked to the winery in the cool of the night arriving early morning..

As with all our Pinot Noirs we are “hands-on”. A long and slow fermentation in 5 ton open-top fermentors extracts pretty but complex Pinot flavors. Manual punch downs, twice a day, is another measure to ensure we get all the best parts of the Pinot grapes. The wine is pressed to complete dryness and goes to barrel with moderate lees. This wine was aged for 36 months in François Frères French oak barrels, 33% new.