TASTING NOTESWe get a little blood orange on the nose, then – classic Temperance Hill - moving into the flavors of blackberry and raspberry. Notes of tarragon and again rosemary add complexity to the middle palate, and there is a distinctive flavor of coffee on the finish. This wine is somewhat tannic, but the tannins are integrated and soft.
2009 VINTAGE REPORT
Each vintage starts in the spring. So much is determined by the weather during bloom which,
around here, generally takes place in June. We can pretty much count on harvest starting 100 days
from bloom - always nice to have a handle on that - and if there aren’t any heavy rains to knock
the flowers off, we know there will be plenty of fruit coming in once harvest does begin.
2009 saw a great set in the spring, no damaging rains left us tons (literally and figuratively) of grapes.
September saw very little rain, and we thought we’d be pulling everything in early., but then we
had a nice rain in early October which the grapes loved, and we settled into a relatively cool, dry
month. The grapes were able to take their leisurely time maturing and when all was said and done
we found ourselves with a bumper crop of really lovely fruit.
And we hope you like our new labels
for the R. Stuart & Co. line of wines – we’re launching them with this 2009 vintage!
At R. Stuart & Co. we hang our hat on blended Pinot noirs. The Big Fire Pinot and the Autograph are really the cornerstones of what we do.
Having said that, it’s still lots of fun to make single vineyard Pinot noirs. In 2007 I made six of them. All in small lots – just about 100 cases each – and all are unfined and unfiltered. We age them each for about 10 months in a combination of new to 5 year old French oak.
Taste and explore these wines for yourself. Watching them unfold over the years is a fascinating and delicious pastime – I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
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