Tasting Notes
The cooler 2010 growing season has produced a classic expression of Pinot Noir with beautiful layers of cherry, raspberry, cedar, clove and cinnamon, as well as more floral notes of rose and carnation. Though the tannins are creamy, rich and fine-grained, there is a bright acidity that penetrates the tannins and keeps the wine light and lively. While the wine’s energy and high-tone red-fruit notes are a constant from start to finish, deeper notes of chocolate, moist earth and forest floor offer balance and add complexity. A great wine that’s reminiscent of the exceptional 2007 vintage.

Winemaking
100% Pinot Noir fruit; Multi-yeast fermentations (wild & cultured); 100% malo-lactic fermentation in barrel; 45% new Burgundian French oak barrels; Bottled without fining or filtration

Vineyard Character
This beautiful wine features fruit from an array of exceptional Sonoma Coast winegrowing sites, including vineyards in Green Valley, Sonoma Valley and the Russian River Valley. Some of the appellation’s most distinguished viticulturists and vineyard owners provide fruit for this complex blend, including the Dutton Brothers, the Martinelli family, Charlie Chenoweth, and Steve Hill.

THE PATZ & HALL FAMILY OF WINEGROWERS
To craft our Patz & Hall SONOMA COAST PINOT NOIR, we source grapes from a number of California’s most distinguished winegrowing families. The Dutton family provides us with fruit from several of their small vineyard sites. Charlie Chenoweth, Lee Martinelli, and Steve Hill also contribute superb quality fruit to this complex blend of vineyard sites and clones. The blend also features a core of fruit from Gap’s Crown, one of the Sonoma Coast’s great emerging vineyards. In addition, to achieve our goal of producing a Pinot Noir that embodies the depth, structure and vibrant fruit flavors of the Sonoma Coast, we continually seek out new single-vineyard caliber Pinot Noir sites to add to this delicious cuvée.