1999 Pinot Noir - Van der Kamp Vineyard
Tasting Notes
This vintage from the Van der Kamp vineyard exhibits a striking garnet color with an aroma that simply leaps from the glass. At first it is the "pretty side" of Pinot Noir that comes forth with a wonderful purity of violet and cherry tones. The "frame" of the wine then emerges as a mélange of baking spices, most notably clove, with laces of smoked meat accenting the intense fruit. The flavors echo the aromas with nicely balanced acid and tannins. This wine was incredibly popular at the recent "Pinot Fest" at Farillon restaurant in San Francisco. Although hard to resist now, this Pinot will get even better over the next 1-2 years and we expect it to drink well until 2005-2006. Enjoy!
Facts
- Clones: Martini, Jackson and old-vine (unknown origin - oldest Pinot vines in Sonoma County). 8% of Van der Kamp's old-vine Pinot Meunier (Horn clone) added for its sweet texture & perfume.
- Yeast/ML: 100% native for Pinot Noir; Bourgogne rouge yeast isolate for the Pinot Meunier
- Cooperage: 90% new oak, majority François Freres Tronçais high toast/toasted heads with Remond, Cadus, Marsannay, Billon and Latour coopers filling out the line-up. Total time in barrel: 9 months
- Harvest: Mid-to-late October
- Yield: 2 tons/acre for the Pinot Noir; 3 tons/acre for the Pinot Meunier
- Vineyard location: Highest vineyard on Sonoma Mountain, on the North-facing slope.
Vineyard terroir
Unique mesoclimate which has all of the elements of altitude, a Northern aspect, the oldest Pinot Noir grapevines in Sonoma County (planted in 1950 or '51), the care of farming entirely by the Van der Kamp family (Martin's son Ulysses tends the vineyard), the contribution of a few vines of the rare Pinot Meunier, and the strength of the rocky, well-drained volcanic soil all contribute to this Sonoma County viticultural treasure. This year we were fortunate enough to have a barrel of the Jackson clone from the East side of the ranch's more fertile forest edge to add yet another level of complexity to the nuances.
Plantings
The oldest vines are dry-farmed and traditionally trellised, with spacing roughly 6x8. The "younger" vines (planted in the late 60's and early '70's, veritable veterans in the CA Pinot world) are now configured in the more modern "VSP" (vertical shoot position) trellis to allow sunlight in more freely and increase air circulation, as is the Pinot Meunier.
Winemaking
The dry-farmed "Old Vine" section was fermented with the submerged cap technique to help to tame the cool-season mountain tannins. Both lots of Pinot Noir were cold soaked for 7 and 9 days and then fermented on native yeast to a hot peak cap temperature of 36°C and body temperature of 29°C. The submerged cap fermentation was pressed off at 4° Brix and allowed to finish fermentation in barrel, while the VSP lot was pressed off at dryness. Both Pinots went straight to barrel on their gross lees, where they remained until the night before bottling. The barrels were gently gas-displaced through the night and bottled as soon as the last barrel was emptied. This wine embodies the extreme gentle-hanuling techniques we use to handcraft our wines.
Final bottling technical information
- pH: 3.49
- TA: 6.0 g/L
- 14.3% alcohol
- Residual sugar: 1.6 g/L (dry)
Bottled unfined and unfiltered directly off the lees in July 2000; 312 cases produced.