2007 Pinot Noir Rosé
Vintage
Vintage 2007 is one that will certainly be discussed. Some say it’s a grower’s year, where meticulous thinning, canopy management and spray routines helped the fruit left hanging on the vine. Others maintain this is a winemaker’s year, where the most experienced and agile artists will be able to take the fruit given by Mother Nature and craft some outstanding wines. All agree that it brought some challenges, yet with the rain in the range of 2005 and much less than the last really rainy harvest of 1997, most in the valley know how to adapt; taking advantage of this year’s attributes such as lower sugars (lower alcohols) and higher acids. These wines will be elegant, refreshing, racy. This vintage will have stellar wines, just perhaps with more variability.
Vineyard
The fruit for this all Pinot Noir Rosé is hand-harvested from Elk Cove’s estate vineyards. For the Rosé, we choose both young and old vines from higher elevation vineyards on their own rootstock. These give us the full flavor development and aromatics needed for a fresh white wine, within a framework of lower alcohol.
Winemaking
Pinot Noir fruit for our Rosé is hand-harvested very ripe and gently whole bunch pressed with limited skin crushing, which makes virtually a “white Pinot Noir”. The wine is fermented cool in stainless steel tanks. Then carefully selected lots of fermented red Pinot Noir juice is blended back for color and texture. Our Pinot Noir Rosé is finished completely dry.
Viticultural & Enological Data
- Vine Age 15 years
- Yield 3 tons/acre
- Harvest Sugars 22 Brix
- pH 3.56
- Vatting Gently whole-cluster pressed, cold fermented in small stainless steel tanks. Select lots of pinot noir juice added back for color.
- Cases Produced 1,570
