Our Pinot Noir derives from revered clones and the ideal vineyard environment, suggesting the classic Burgundies in its clarity and depth of varietal expression. The ultimate Pinot Noirs grow in limestone soils, rare to California but abundant in our vineyard. In James E. Wilson's Terroir, the author describes France's legendary soils, where for centuries limestone has been known as "the one soil constituent associated with wine quality, favoring chemical availability of mineral nutrients and immunity from acidity. Limestone favors moisture retention, hence the feeding of the vineplant."

Dr. Thomas J. Rice of Cal Poly stated at the recent Great Whites Seminar at Carmody McKnight that "Free calcium carbonate assures superb soil structure and porosity contributing to ideal balance." Our limestone endowed soils provide the natural balance which is the key to the superior wines and especially important for Pinot Noir.

The most romantic of wines, our estate Pinot Noir is surprisingly opulent, yet elegant and velvety textured, with strawberry and berry-earthy savoriness in its overture. Blackberry and spicy plum vie for attention with black cherry and currant flavors, finishing in a final act of subtle tannins, a trace of toasty oak, and a silkiness that glides seductively over the palate