Moonshine Ranch Pinot Noir 2019

Back during prohibition the owners of Moonshine Ranch used to run ‘shine on this ranch in the existing barn. The owner used to sneak out in the middle of the night, while his wife slept to tend to the still. The wife got suspicious and thought it was another woman he was going to see, so she hired a private detective to follow him. When the detective discovered he was making moonshine, he had the man arrested and thrown in jail. The barn still stands on the property today, but houses tractors now instead.

The 2019 season was overall very cool with record rainfall for Sonoma County in February. The vines however were not affected by this because they were still dormant at the time. Similar to the 2018 season, spring and summer were moderate in temperature and ripening developed gradually and under minimal stress. This year was in fact so similar to 2018 that we began harvest the same day, on September 10. Unfortunately another wildfire hit the region at the end of October, but luckily none of our vineyards were affected. The winery and many employees were evacuated, but we were able to keep an eye on the new vintage with a skeleton crew. The quality was not impacted and we are very excited at the concentration of flavors in this vintage.

APPELLATION

Russian River Valley

VARIETALS PLANTED

Pinot Noir

SOIL INFORMATION

Huichicha

SOIL CHARACTERISTICS

Clay, Clay loam with some cobble stone

ROOTSTOCK

101-14, 3309

CLONAL SELECTION

115,114, 113 and starting in 2010 Reserve

YEAR ACQUIRED

1994

YEAR PLANTED

1995, 1996

The nose is nuanced with aromas of hibiscus tea, creamed coffee, and wild blackberries. Present tannins do not hide the beautiful black plum and clove flavors in the mouth. The finish is surprisingly elegant and long with a lingering blackberry flavor.