Fall Release Jentoft Vineyard Ryan Pinot Noir
2018

Winemaker’s Notes

Our latest vintage of Jentoft Vineyard Ryan Pinot Noir is a wonderful follow-up to the exceptional 2017 that created a buzz with customers and critics alike. It’s beautifully evocative of this steep hillside site in the coastal mountains surrounded by the forest and bathed in cool high-elevation sunlight. For me, it represents the essence of coastal Russian River Pinot Noir: intensity, vibrancy and deeply pitched fruits with pulsating acidity and incredible length. Our 2018 is sleeker and slightly more focused than its predecessor with greater savory complexity and less emphasis on fruit density. Above all else, it is a wine true to its gorgeous landscape.

What I particularly love about this vineyard is the near-perfect equilibrium the vines achieve with their environment. The site’s shallow, ridgetop soils make it naturally low-yielding and restrict the vines’ canopy growth. This permits us to farm with relatively low input, allowing the vines to achieve their highest, most focused expression.

There’s good punch to the aromas, which are simultaneously bright and dark: cranberry, black cherry and rhubarb. Highly perfumed Asian spice, juniper and orange peel lend support. The palate is lively and juicy—the flavors of black raspberry, huckleberry and pomegranate vivid and intense with a lovely inner-mouth floral lift. The wine has outstanding cut and definition with lingering hints of peat moss and sweet tobacco that fan out on the seamless mineral finish. Drink between mid 2021 and 2030, anticipating wonderful potential with age. Bottled unfiltered.

Andy Smith