2003 Pinot Noir, Rancho Santa Rosa Vineyard Magnum (1.5 L)
Specifications
- Appellation Sta. Rita Hills
- Bottling Date September 2003
- Harvest Date September 2002
- Region Santa Barbara County
- Varietal Pinot Noir
- Vintage 2003
- Winemaker Norm Yost
Production Notes
93 cases produced.
Vineyard Notes
The Rancho Santa Rosa Vineyard is a two hundred and forty acre vineyard planted to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Planted in 1998, Rancho Santa Rosa has been called “Little Burgundy”, referring to the subdivision of the property into thirty-five different parcels. Each parcel is planted to the new Dijon and more traditional Pommard clones, each with appropriate rootstock matched to the soil. The cool morning fog moderates the temperatures in the Santa Rita Hills due to the west-east orientation of the region to the Pacific Ocean.
Winemaker Notes
Clones 115 and 667 were used to make our 2003 vintage, both of which are Dijon clones. As with all of our Flying Goat wines, the fruit was hand harvested once we had determined that it was at its optimal ripeness – acids, sugars and pH all in balance, but more importantly tasting spicy, elegant and interesting. Following an early morning harvest, we de-stemmed the grapes into small open-top fermenters. After inoculation with a cultured yeast, we carefully monitored the fermenting juice and punched the cap of skins back into the juice/wine two or three times a day to gain maximum extraction of colors and flavors and to control the fermentation temperature. Once fermentation was completed, the new wine was gravity racked into a combination of new and older French oak barrels, where it aged for twelve months. Then it was racked once and minimal filtration was employed to capture maximum fruit flavors and aromas.