Three Sisters Vineyard Pinot Noir 2019

The Three Sisters Vineyard consists of two small vineyard sites: the Meadow, and the Lambing Barn Ridge, as this land was originally homesteaded in the 1860s for raising sheep by Carolyn Martinelli’s ancestors. These pasture lands were planted with grapevines in the 1990s. This grape studded view lies upon the second ridge inland from the coastline at Fort Ross. Here above the fog line the skies are clear and pristine, yet in the winter the rain falls harder and denser than anywhere else in Sonoma County.  Both sites are planted with clones 95, 96, and 76 and the soil is a mix of Josephine and Gold Ridge soil.

The 2019 season was overall very cool, and we had record rainfall in 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 staff 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

Fort Ross-Seaview

VARIETALS PLANTED

Chardonnay, Pinot Noir

SOIL INFORMATION

Josephine and Goldridge

SOIL CHARACTERISTICS

Well drained, some clay loam

ROOTSTOCK

101-14, 3309

CLONAL SELECTION

(CH = 96, 95, 76) (PN = 115, 777, 667, Pommard)

YEAR ACQUIRED

1860

YEAR PLANTED

1995, 1996

This wine has beautiful aromas of wild strawberries and barrel spice that are present in the bouquet. High tone flavors of fresh strawberry, red currants and red cherry complement the fine tannin structure of the palate and in the finish.