1998 Pinot Noir - Pisoni Vineyard
Tasting Notes
Vivid red, rich hues. Violets/rose petal, chocolate, bacon fat and raspberry cordial/red cherries succeed one another in a cascade of aromas. On the mouth, dark berry character and echoes of the aromas are supported by firm palate weight. The fruit carries through far into the luscious finish of the soft acid and tannin structure. This wine is elegantly textured and will drink well soon after release. The 1998 Flowers Pisoni also has the backbone to age for 5 years or more.
Facts
- Clone: Le mystere du Bourgogne special Gary Pisoni selection
- Yeast/ML: 100% native
- Cooperage: 50% new oak: majority François Freres Troçais high toast/toasted heads with dollups of Remond, Cadus, Marsannay, Billon, Gillet, Chene Colbert and Latour coopers.
- Harvest: Mid-October
- Yield: 2.8 tons/acre
- Vineyard location: Monterrey County in the Santa Lucia Highlands. Located above the Bianchi Bench in a cleft of the mountains high above other vineyards in this area, this site is favorably situated to receive the afternoon coolness of the Salinas breezes, yet sheltered protection to allow full afternoon photosynthesis and hence flavor ripening.
- Vineyard terroir: Marine sedimentary with some calcareous influence. The Hermanos block, from which we draw our grapes, is in an ancient stream bed with well-drained, sandy/gravelly soil that is relatively impoverished in vine nutrients
- Plantings: 5x8 spacing on 5C rootstock, facing down the canyon draw with a SE exposure
Final bottling technical information
- pH: 3.72
- TA: 6.7 g/L
- 13.6% alcohol
- Residual sugar: 0.3 g/L (searingly bone-dry)
Bottled unfined and unfiltered in September 1999; 279 cases produced.