Cakebread Cellars Two Creeks Vineyards Pinot Noir 2018  £49.99

Cakebread Cellars Two Creeks Vineyards Pinot Noir

Cakebread grows grapes for this Pinot Noir on their family’s Annahala and Apple Barn vineyards in Anderson Valley, Mendocino County, where the nearby Pacific Coast and its cooling influence provides ideal ripening conditions for Pinot Noir. Their Apple Barn Ranch sits just north of Booneville on the east side of the valley, where full sun exposure and gravelly soils give us ripe, concentrated fruit. Annahala Vineyard, closer to the ocean, experiences more time in the fog, and its Pinot Noir is characterized by delicate, nuanced expression. Two Creeks Pinot Noir blends both vineyards expressions for a beautiful balance between ripeness and natural acidity.

In Anderson Valley, the 2018 growing season was a dream come true. Early spring rains replenished the soils, and clusters ripened evenly over a long, slow summer with no heat spikes. Yields at harvest were abundant and of very high quality. Overall temperatures were slightly cooler than normal, and Pinot Noir from this vintage shows distinctively balanced bright fruit characters.

Cakebread harvest grapes for this Pinot Noir during the cool nighttime temperatures to retain the freshness, natural acidity and fruit purity tasted in the vineyards. At the winery, the grapes were hand-sorted and destemmed before heading to small tanks—kept separate by each vineyard block. In tanks, the grapes are given time to “cold-soak,” which helped along with the extraction of deep colour and flavour and allowed native yeast to naturally begin fermentation. They allowed a portion of this wine to fermented with its grape stems for spicy aromatics and complexity, and later add cultured yeast to finish fermentation. Gentle punch-downs during fermentation encouraged ideal colour, flavour and tannin development. After fermentation, the free-run wine was drained from its skins and transferred to French oak barrels (37% new) that were carefully chosen to enhance the elegant wines of Anderson Valley. As the wines developed in barrel, individual lots were evaluated and blended early—within three months of harvest— to integrate flavours and ensure balance. The blended wine aged in barrel for ten months.

Aromas of sweet black cherry, raspberry, rose petal and violet carry over onto a fresh palate of raspberry and flavours. Round, silky tannins support the bright fruit, and a touch of minerality complements the delicious red fruit expression over a smooth finish.