Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley, 2009
From one of Santa Barbara County’s great growing regions. The Rusack Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir captures some of this region’s classic characters of strawberry and cherry, with a hint of mesquite, which are followed by flavors of rhubarb and cranberry. The soft, silky tannins make for an approachable young wine that is also age worthy.

The majority of the grapes for the vintage hail from two stellar Santa Maria Valley vineyards: 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, 33% of which were new, for ten months of aging. Bottled without filtration in August of 2010, the wine enjoyed eleven months of bottle aging before being released. 686 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:
56% Solomon Hills, 34% Sierra Madre, 6% Fiddlestix, 4% Rio Vista

Bottle analysis:
Alcohol: 14.3%, pH: 3.55, TA: 0.615 g/100ml

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