Santa Maria Valley

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This wine is all about perfume and nuance. Its dramatic and alluring aroma is followed by gentle, savory flavors that have you coming back for glass after glass. Illustrative of our efforts to catch the fascinating and elusive character of pinot noir in perfect balance, we harvested the grapes for this wine fully ripe, but not over-ripe. Much like our 2007 version, this one gave us a wine with less alcohol and more aroma. Although it will certainly age well, this Bien Nacido pinot is open and delicious today.

The fruit from this 38 year old vineyard was picked during the night to keep it cool. It arrived at the winery early in the morning and was destemmed without crushing the berries. The fruit was put in open top stainless steel vats and after a 5 day cold soak, the native yeast began fermenting. During that time we punched down (mixed) the vats by hand, and this continued until the fermentation was complete. The new wine was pressed and  transferred to small French oak barrels for aging (30% were new). The wine was left untouched for the next 14 months. Then it was carefully racked off the sediment and bottled without filtration.

Blend: 100% Pinot Noir | Alcohol: 14.0% | Vinification: 30% New French Oak | Barrel Aging: 14 Months | Total Production: 454 cases

Press Reviews

Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar

“Vivid red. Nuanced, spice-accented nose offers red and black fruits and a whiff of licorice. Sweet and intense, with excellent focus and purity to the black raspberry and bitter cherry flavors. Shows impressive energy and finishes with building but sweet and harmonious tannins. I really like this wine’s balance.” – JR 92 Points

Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

“The 2008 Pinot Noir Bien Nacido presents sweet red cherries, licorice and flowers, all of which come together gracefully on a delicate, mid-weight frame. This shows gorgeous inner perfume and sweetness through to the striking finish.” – AG 90 Points