2003 Pinot Noir, Dierberg Vineyard

Awards

 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition 2005 Silver

Wine Enthusiast 84 points.

"Tannic, heavy and a bit hot, and not offering much pleasure now, although it's properly dry, and there's a solid core of black cherry fruit. Finishes with a grapeskin bitterness."

Production Notes

Pinot Noir clones 115 & 13; 282 cases produced.

Tasting Notes

The wine first delights the eye with a bright ruby and garnet color – a jewel of a wine. Ripe fruit aromas with hints of plum, black cherry and dried apricots lead to nuances of leather, coffee and cola. Swirling the wine encourages it to open, and tastes of firm red fruit, vanilla, and earthy tones delight the palate. Another taste reveals a bit of chocolate, tar and red currants. This wine has a medium body, with smooth texture and a lingering acidity on the firm, round finish. This is a wine that is showing well in its youth, but has ample room to grow. Flying Goat Pinot Noirs are crafted to be ready to drink upon release, and this vintage is no exception. Enjoy now and/or cellar for 3-5 years.

Vineyard Notes

The 9 year old 161-acre Dierberg vineyard sits on undulating hills about 4 miles east of Highway 101 in the middle of the Santa Maria Valley. The vines are planted to catch the prevailing winds from the Pacific Ocean, which is a scant 14 miles west of the vineyard. The vineyard is planted with the new Dijon clones as well as a few older, traditional clones. Once again, we chose Clone 115, a Dijon clone, for backbone and body. And then, while walking through the vineyard tasting grapes, we decided to take a little bit of a different turn with the 03 vintage, and contracted for some Clone 13 Pinot Noir, which is commonly known in the industry as “Martini”.

Winemaker Notes

The grapes were destemmed to small open top bins for individual fermentation and punched down by hand 2-3 times daily. Once fermentation had completed, in about 10 days, the skins were lightly pressed and the free run wine was gravity fed to barrels for 12 months aging on the lees. The aging wine was occassionally stirred to add creaminess to the final texture. Blending trials were done in the late summer, and the wine was lightly filtered and bottled in August, 2004