2015 Starmont Pinot Noir Coury Clone

Winemaking

The Coury clone is named for Charles Coury, who brought this clone to Carneros over 50 years ago. Charles Coury identified Carneros as one of the pre-eminent cool-climate wine regions in the world and we pay homage to him using his namesake clone. Handpicked on September 1st, the fruit was destemmed into an open-top fermenter, cold soaked for 5 days and fermented at an average temperature of 80° F for 7 days using native yeast. After a 3-day extended maceration for a total of 15 days on the skins, the wine was pressed and racked into barrels. The wine spent a total of 18 months in French oak barrels (40% new); was racked once after 10 months, then again just before bottling.

Tasting Notes

Unseasonably warm temperatures in the late winter and early spring brought an early bud break and bloom. Colder temperatures in May resulted in a much smaller crop leading to a harvest date of September 1st, 2015. The wine shows the warmer and concentrated vintage with notes of black cherry, blackberry compote and clove. On the palate the wine is rich, dense and round showing slight alcohol warmth on the finish.