2023 Rapley Trail Vineyard Pinot Noir

The 2023 growing season was the coolest season since 2011 and one of the longest, latest growing seasons in the 40+ years of Fogarty Winery. We began the harvest on September 25 with the Sauvignon Blanc from Gist Ranch and began to pick Pinot Noir later that week. The estate Chardonnay harvest didn’t begin till October 19th. We finished with our Nebbiolo on November 14th, one of the latest picks we have ever made!

The wines are bright and aromatic with good depth and intensity. It is an elegant vintage that should age well. The wines will benefit from some additional time in the bottle as they are showing somewhat reticently in their youth. This seems to be a very strong vintage for both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, especially the old vines on the estate – Rapley Trail and Langley Hill in particular.

"The 2023 Pinot Noir Rapley Trail Vineyard comes from a steep six-acre parcel on the estate, planted to old Martini clone. The 2023 is exotic and weighty, opening with rich blue fruit, candied violet, juniper, sandalwood and heady spice character..." - Billy Norris, Vinous 95 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.
Rapley Trail Vineyard consists of the martini clone planted in 1983. The 6-acre plot sits at an elevation of 1650 feet and is southeast facing. Different blocks are harvested and bottled from this vineyard to showcase the soil and climate variations found here. At higher elevations the soil is dark and rich whereas the lower portions are grey, lean, and rough. While all vintages and blocks yield distinctive notes, there is a common theme of an exotic and spicy aroma.