Two Sisters - Pinot Noir - Lindsay's Vineyard 2015

Tasting notes

Lindsay's Vineyard Pinot Noir is complex, concentrated and elegant. It boasts an aromatic medley of candied black cherry, rose petal and hibiscus tea. A decadent, dark fruit Pinot for the true Pinot Noir connoisseur, this wine can be savored by itself or paired with roasted lamb and root vegetables.

Vinification

Lindsay's Vineyard Pinot Noir hails from the Sta. Rita Hills AVA, one of California's premier, cool-climate regions known for producing world-class Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. After harvest, the clusters were de-stemmed with no crushing and the must was cold-soaked in open-top fermenters. Each tank was manually punched down daily for more extraction. The wine was then transferred to tank for settling after primary fermentation and maceration. Finally, individual lots were racked to 80% new French oak barrels and aged for 16 months.

Vintage

The 2015 vintage was early, light and exceptionally high in quality. The vines experienced no hard dormancy and above average temperatures in February which resulted in an early bud break. The drought patterns from previous years and throughout the season yielded fruit with smaller berry and cluster size. This ultimately translated into intense flavor concentration producing wines that are rich, complex, and powerful in character.

Appellation

The Sta. Rita Hills AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in Santa Barbara County California, it is part of the larger Santa Ynez Valley AVA. The wine region is exposed to fog and coastal breezes from the nearby Pacific Ocean. The hills run east to west, which allows cool ocean breezes from the nearby Pacific Ocean to enter the valley created by the hills and create a cool micro-climate. When combined with the rocky nature of the area, the Santa Rita Hills area is well-suited for the growing of Pinot noir grapes, which tend to do well in cool climates with rocky soil. The region is best known for Chardonnay and Pinot noir varietal wines.

Estate

Two Sister's is named after Bill and Carol Foley's two daughters, Lindsay and Courtney. The wines come from the prized Rancho Las Hermanas property in the Santa Rita Hills AVA. The Courtney's Vineyard Chardonnay and Lindsay's Vineyard Pinot Noir showcase the best blocks on the estate. They feature both heritage and heirloom clones chosen specifically for their character, flavor profile and compatibility with the terroir. First bottled in 1998, this vineyard block often yields less than 1 ton per acre. All grapes are handpicked on the estate and feature heritage clones specifically chosen for their character, flavor profile and compatibility with the terroir.

USA California Sta. Rita Hills