2017 Gap’s Crown Vineyard Pinot Noir
This vineyard sits high on a rock strewn, windswept hill directly overlooking the Petaluma Gap, the coastal mountain feature that feeds the cool Pacific air into the Russian River basin. Usually the last vineyard we pick each year, and often the most tannic of our wines, the 2017 offering has a softer, less tannic and more resolved composition. Intense aromas of black cherry, citrus peel, dark cocoa along with hints of mushroom-forest floor intermingle and intertwine. Gap’s Crown Vineyard is a very long-lived wine that rewards patient cellaring for many years to come.
The 2017 growing season began in March with cool temperatures and sustained rainfall,
a welcome development after five years of drought. As the rains cleared, sunny and warm conditions prevailed. Flowering began as usual in May, but foggy and windy days caused incomplete pollination, creating small berries with fewer seeds and reduced crop yields. The upside is that small berries provide great flavor concentration and color. A very warm, beautiful summer advanced the growing season by almost two weeks, accelerating our picking to get the grapes into the winery at ideal ripeness. We started harvest August 18th for our sparkling wine and concluded on September 27th, making 2017 the fastest harvest since 2008. Fortunately, our strong farming relationships allowed for perfectly ripe fruit with excellent chemistry. When the fires broke out in Napa and Sonoma on October 8th, we had (along with 90% of Sonoma vineyards) picked all our grapes. 2017 is proving to be a fine year, producing wines of depth, finesse, focused vineyard character and delicious flavors and aromas.
One of the Sonoma Coast’s great vineyards, Gap’s Crown was first planted to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in 2002. Located in the foothills of the Sonoma Mountain, above the Petaluma Gap, it offers a variety of soil types at elevations ranging from 300 to 800 feet. The prized sections we work with are on the flank of the mountain. They are two of the highest blocks on the vineyard and are planted to clones 667 and 828, in Goulding series soils, with some heavier clay interspersed with volcanic rock and lots of gravel. These soils are extremely well drained, and coupled with the site’s wind and fog, help to ensure low yields. Gap’s Crown is one of the last vineyards we harvest each vintage.
100% Burgundian French oak barrels (50% new; 50% 1-2-year old)
Bottled without filtration to preserve the wine’s aromas and flavors and enhance aging potential
- Type:
- Red
- Varietal:
- Pinot Noir
- Region:
- California
- Appellation:
- Sonoma Coast
- Vintage:
- 2017
- Blend:
- 100% Pinot Noir
- Alcohol:
- 14.2
- Fermentation:
- Multi-yeast fermentations (native yeast, followed by cultured yeast); 10% whole cluster added; 100% malo-lactic fermentation in barrel