Our Estate Vineyard
Our estate vineyard, Fe Ciega, was planted in 1998, and then
expanded in 2008 to a total of nine acres of Pinot Noir. The consistent
high-quality wines that are produced from our vineyard have earned it a
reputation as being one of the “grand cru” sites in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA.
The Harvest
The weather was relatively mild during the growing season with
no appreciable hot spells during harvest. As a result, harvest began on
September 13th and concluded on September 22nd. The average sugar content was 23.8 Brix with
an excellent balance of acidity. The average cluster weight was below normal,
which contributed to a very low crop yield of just 1.7 tons per acre.
Winemaking
The grapes were 100% destemmed and crushed into small
open-top fermenters. After a three-day cold soak, the must was inoculated with
yeast to start fermentation. Following an average ten-day fermentation, the
wine was pressed off, settled in a tank for several days and then racked to
French oak barrels for aging. Only 18% of the barrels were new. After 15 months
of barrel aging, a blend was created from the Pommard, Dijon 667 and Mt. Eden
clones. The wine was not fined and only lightly filtered prior to being bottled
in January 2020.
The Wine
The wine has a medium, dark garnet color. The perfumed aroma
is an array of ripe cherries and yellow plums with hints of sandalwood. On the
palate the wine is medium-bodied with the rich flavors of dried cherries,
pomegranates and plums. 2018’s low crop yields resulted in grapes of intense
flavor and firmer tannins. The higher than normal tannins will enable this wine
to age in the bottle even longer than what is typical for a Pinot from Fe Ciega
Vineyard.
Food Pairing
This powerful, extracted wine will pair well with a wide
variety of food. Goat cheese-stuffed chicken breast is a wonderful pairing, but
the wine is powerful enough to also pair with lamb and fine cuts of beef. I
recommend decanting the wine 45-60 minutes before serving to allow the wine to
open up.
Rick Longoria, Winemaker
October 1, 2020
Composition: 100% Pinot Noir
Vineyard source: Fe Ciega
Production: 133 cases
Alcohol by volume: 13.7%
pH: 3.63
Titratable acidity: 0.58g/100ml
Cellaring potential: Seven to ten years
Bottle price: $55.00
