2016 Pinot Noir, Solomon Hills Vineyard
Specifications
- Acidity .65g/100ml
- Appellation Santa Maria Valley AVA
- Bottling Date April 10, 2018
- Harvest Date September 1, 2016
- ph 3.65
- Region Santa Barbara County
- Varietal Pinot Noir
- Vintage 2016
- Winemaker Norm Yost
Awards
Wine Enthusiast 90 points.
Food Pairing
Pair with grilled pork loin, smoked duck or dark chocolate flourless cake.
Production Notes
Clone 113. 146 cases produced.
Tasting Notes
Seductive, luscious and luxurious. This robust Pinot features aromatics of bitter-sweet cocoa, coffee and deep forest floor. Underpinnings of ripe red cherry and plum are accented with tones of dried cranberry and red currant on the palate. Balanced tannin creates a rich mouthfeel.
Vineyard Notes
Solomon Hills is a stunning vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley, planted in 1999 and under the stewardship of the Miller Family’s vineyard crew. One of the coolest vineyard sites in the area, Solomon Hills nestles in a beautiful swale off of Highway 101 and Clark Road, southwest of the family’s other Santa Maria Valley vineyard, Bien Nacido. The vineyard is divided into four different blocks with each of these planted to a specific clone and rootstock best suited to soil type and microclimate. The rows designated for Flying Goat are all Dijon clone 113, and the block can be seen from the highway as it undulates up to the water tower at the top of the hillside. The vineyard is showing some maturity that was not apparent before 2009.
Winemaker Notes
A favorite of our cellar master Andre Baltazar, he describes the processing of this wine as “gently shepherding the fruit into its full potential with minimal intervention.”