Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley, 2007
From one of Santa Barbara County’s great growing regions. The Rusack 2006 Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir captures some of this region’s classic characters of blackberry, dark cherry and smoky aromas, which follow through on the palate. The soft, silky tannins make for an approachable young wine that is also age worthy.

The grapes for the 2007 vintage hail from three stellar Santa Maria Valley vineyards; Garey, Solomon Hills and Sierra Madre. The grapes were de-stemmed upon arrival at the winery in the early hours of the day and then placed into one-ton macro bins for fermentation. Carefully tended, the grape “must” was punched down by hand twice each day to extract flavors and tannins from the skins and manage the fermentation temperature. Upon completion of fermentation, the new wine was placed into French oak barrels, 45% of which were new, for ten months of aging. Bottled without filtration in August of 2008, the wine enjoyed nine months of bottle aging before being released. Just 552 cases produced.

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Optimum Storage Conditions: Constant temperature, 55-58° F, darkness.

Aging Potential: To enjoy young fruit aromas, consume within 1-3 years of bottling date. For extended aging under ideal conditions, consume within 3-7 years of bottling date.

Vineyards:
46% Garey, 36% Solomon Hills, 18% Sierra Madre

Bottle analysis:
Alcohol: 14.1%, pH: 3.49, TA: 0.680 g/100ml

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