2018 Pinot Noir, Mount Richmond Vineyard MAGNUM

From Winemaker, John Abbott:

The 2018 vintage was warm and dry during the growing season. It, too, was the first time we experienced smoke lingering in the valley as a result of terrible wildfires in California, Southern Oregon, and Canada. Fortunately, the smoke didn’t come at a time or linger long enough to cause us any trouble with the fruit. Then late September brought a welcoming rain that allowed for two more weeks of ripening at Mount Richmond.

Because of the warmer weather, we were prepared for a vintage with bigger tannins, and in order to manage this carefully, we de-stemmed the fruit at Mount Richmond before transporting it up the river to the winery. This was important, because Mount Richmond Vineyard can be quite tannic. Once fermentation had begun, we decreased our pumpovers to slow the extraction further. We taste every lot of wine each day during its fermentation to monitor extraction, which informs our decision of when to press the young wine off of its skins. We wouldn’t want to miss the perfect time.

An interesting note is that both the Mt. Richmond and Freedom Hill pinots are the same two clones, with the Pommard being the dominant piece in both. Pommard tends to show a pure dark fruit, while Clone 115 is one of the few stand-alone Dijon clones, and it has a distinct profile that features bright red fruit and spice. We really like the balance that we were able to achieve with the 2018 vintage, one that accommodates a lushness without being gooey.

The nose of this wine is filled with black raspberries, dark cherry preserves, and dried fig. These characters all follow through to a complex and rich palate that adds cassis, black pepper, dark floral notes of violets, fine-grained tannins, and a tiny throughline of pumpkin seed. The structure and balance of acidity, tannin, and punchy black fruit that Mount Richmond provides will age well, so don’t hesitate to tuck this wine away in your cellar.

As for music, I left it to Molly this time and she loves the mellow. Try Geoffrey Oryema and his album Exile, Sting’s album, The Living Sea, from the movie of the same name, and Sade’s album Love Deluxe.