2009 "The Shop" Carneros Pinot Noir

SOLD OUT!

Once in a while, nature decides to look kindly upon us mortals and remove a few obstacles from our paths as we stumble along through life. This is how I explain the 2009 season. While I would never go so far as to say that it was easy, it was certainly a lot less difficult than 2008. Mostly it was the weather that cooperated—it was mild, not too wet, not too dry, vine growth was just right, clusters the right size, little or no botrytis pressure, no heat waves to speak of. There was a mid-October rain that made life hard for late ripening vineyards, but for early varieties like Pinot Noir you couldn’t ask for much more.

I almost always mention, when talking about the Shop, that it sometimes wants to be too “big.” Each year I try to tame it a little, let more of the charm show through. I’m not shooting for total limpidity and delicacy but a little more velvet and a little less iron fist is definitely my goal. The 2009, although pretty “dark fruited” in the typical Carneros fashion, shows a wonderful clarity of aroma and flavor, and balance too, at the relatively (by Californian standards) modest alcohol of 14.1%. Some black cherry, and high notes from whole clusters and stems, subtle oak. Pretty generous on the palate. To be brief, it just tastes good, which is always the ultimate goal, isn’t it? 

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