2021 Rapley Trail Vineyard Pinot Noir

The 2021 vintage was a welcome change from the catastrophe of 2020. Harvest began in Pinot Noir in early September, which is an historically average starting date. Sugar and acidity levels tracked well and while the crop size was shorter than we would prefer, we were able to harvest perfectly ripened fruit at a reasonable pace. The resulting wines have excellent balance and intensity. In our recent past there are some similarities to 2019 in that the wines possess great elegance and site specificity.

"Laced with dried herbs, mint, sweet tobacco, menthol, licorice and crushed red berry fruit. Medium in body and sinewy the 2021 possesses notable energy to match its translucent, expressive personality. Martini clone is so expressive here. I very much like the energy." -Antonio Galloni, Vinous 94 points
Our winemaking is focused on allowing the unique signature of each vineyard site to be expressed. We ferment all of our Pinot Noir in small lots of between one and two tons. We utilize varying percentages of whole bunches (approximately 25-50%), tailored to each site, and ferment the wines without the addition of yeast. Our maceration period lasts from 10-21 days, often including a short per-fermentation cold soak. We age our Pinot Noir in 3 year air dried French Oak, exclusively from the forest of Chatillon. The wines are pressed in a traditional basket press and allowed to settle before barrelling. The wines spend two winters in barrel and are racked only at bottling.
The Rapley Trail Vineyard (avg. elev. 1650 ft.) was planted in 1981, consisting of six contiguous acres of Pinot Noir vines on our Estate’s rugged southeastern slopes. It has long been the backbone of our past "Estate Reserve" Pinot Noir, but beginning in 2002 we have begun to bottle portions of the vineyard separately. This "deconstruction" displays the unique aspects and interactions of soil and climate that accounts for grapes whose flavor is a direct product of where they are grown; this is terroir. The Rapley Trail Vineyard bottling is comprised of the various lots harvested from the vineyard, which in some years can be picked in as many as 7 passes.