Bien Nacido Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021

Au Bon Climat, tech sheet (hentet 17. okt. 2026): 2021 Bien Nacido Vineyard Pinot Noir – appellation: Santa Maria Valley; vinmark(er): Bien Nacido Vineyard; drue: 100% Pinot Noir; fadlagring: 20 months 75% new François Frères French oak barrels; høst: September 16, 2021; alkohol 13.5%. Om vinmarken (producentens tekst, engelsk): Bien Nacido Vineyard is the benchmark and crown jewel of the Santa Maria Valley AVA. One of the oldest, cool-climate vineyards in California, Bien Nacido Vineyard (Spanish for “Well Born”) has been an acclaimed source of world-glass grapes since its founding in 1973 by brothers Stephen and Bob Miller. It is now acknowledged as among the elite vineyards of the world. Au Bon Climat has a special relationship with the vineyard. In addition to having our winery located on the property, we have custom blocks of fruit with long-term acreage contracts for quality hillside vines dating back to the early 1990s. Today, much of what Au Bon Climat sources from Bien Nacido is fruit that has been planted “exclusively” for us. For being instrumental in elevating Burgundian varietals on the Central Coast, Bien Nacido is part of our “Historic Vineyards Collection” as designated on the label. Fra vinmageren (producentens tekst, engelsk): If there is one characteristic that stands this varietal apart from other growing regions, it is in the complex Santa Maria Valley aromatics. The Pinot Noir fruit from Bien Nacido for this wine is clone 66 from Block 11. As with all our Pinot Noirs, we are “hands-on” beginning with hand harvesting. The fruit is fermented in 5 ton open-top fermenters (60% whole cluster) and punched down twice a day. These punch downs break up the cap of skins that rise to the surface so the fermentation process extracts the best part of the Pinot grapes. The wine is pressed to complete dryness and goes to barrel with moderate lees. It was aged 20 months in 75% new François Frères French oak barrels. Smagsnote (producentens tekst, engelsk): An exquisitely elegant, perfumed wine. Dried hibiscus and alpine strawberry take the lead followed by dark cherry, dried cranberry and earthy sage tones. High acid fruit and great structure from oak tannins assist in creating wonderfully balanced wine. Drinking beautifully now and will continue to handsomely evolve for at least a decade.