HARVESTED: August 25th – September 30th, 2020
VINEYARD: Santa Cruz Mountains
SOILS: loamy clay
BOTTLED: February 2022, 450 cases
COMPOSITION: 100% Pinot Noir
ALCOHOL: 13.6%
WINEMAKER: Charlie Miller
VINEYARD MANAGER: Thayer Dunwoody
VINTAGE NOTES
A continued historic drought and shifts in temperature throughout the season resulted in shorter hangtimes and lower yields. There was just enough water stress early in the season to limit crop size and keep berries very small. This condition is a winemakers dream! By summer, the combination of lower fruit yields and glorious California sunshine rewarded us with an even harvest of small, compact grape clusters.
WINEMAKING NOTES
We harvest our Pinot Noir sequentially with co-fermentation in mind, filling open top tanks and T-bins with vineyards matching in fruit profiles. We employ some whole-cluster fermentation (roughly 15% in 2020), providing extra structure and tannin to the final cuvee. The rest of the vineyards were destemmed whole berry and hand sorted on the shaker table. All fruit is cold soaked prior to fermentation to deepen color, followed by either inoculation of commercial yeast strains or native yeasts. The ferments are gently punched down by hand two to three times a day with peak fermentation temps hitting roughly 90 degrees F. The wine is left on skins for a total of 15-20 days. Our 2020 vintage saw 10% new French oak and was aged in barrel for 16 months. Bottled unfined and unfiltered.
TASTING NOTES
The 2020 Sequence pinot noir has a dark dusty ruby red core that transforms to light garnet hues on the rim. The nose is well balanced, fruit forward and highly perfumed with classic coastal California pinot noir aromatics. The wine is medium bodied, has soft tannins, with a textured velvet like mouth feel. Flavors of ripe strawberry and red cherry dominate the mid palate all framed by toasty dark oak and chinese five spice notes. The finish is long and persistent with balanced minerality and acid. Perfect with poultry, fish or a dry aged steak!
CELLARING
Enjoy now or over the next 3-5 years.