2005 Fiddlestix Vineyard Pinot Noir

The Harvest
For the last several years, the Central Coast has been struggling with low water tables and very low average annual rainfall. This puts additional pressure on the grapevines as they struggle to survive the impact of reduced water access. Additionally the soil begins to build up deposits of sodium that act like plaque around the rootstock portals. This slows the uptake of nutrients into the plant itself thus slowing the overall physiological development of the fruit. Many producers are choosing to begin harvesting later and later into the season when grapes sometimes have desiccated and skin-to-juice ratios have become lopsided.

2005 was a wet, rainy winter season, halleluiah! With as much as 39 inches landing on the vineyards in the Central Coast, much of the sodium was washed away freeing up the rootstock portals to flow freely. We noticed increased physiological development occurring earlier than in the past several years resulting with fruit being harvested with much better balance and higher natural acidity and an excellent juice-to-skin ratio. Many Central Coast vineyards enjoyed bigger harvests due to better overall set, much less desiccation and an overall higher quality fruit.

The Vineyard
Now in our fifth vintage from this site, it’s exciting to see the continued development of this bold vineyard as we learn how to better farm it and how to handle the gripping tannins, which develop in the grapes due to the soil. We continue to learn from and enjoy working directly with Larry Finkle and Kathy Joseph in the execution of managing the vineyard. We also were able to access new blocks this year with additional clones to put into our mix.

Fiddlestix Block 1 was planted in 1998 and Block 2 in 1999. Both Blocks are comprised of clay loam soils from the Botella and Gazos series, but there is a fair amount of chirt and Monterey shale that aid in drainage. Block 1 is planted to a vine density of 1361 plants on 4 X 8 spacing. Block 2 is planted to 1556 plants per acre on 4 X 7 spacing. Trellising is a vertical shoot positioning with three sets of double-catch wires.

Harvest began on September 4 for clone 4, clone 113, clone 115 and clone 777 in Block 2 and for clone 667 in Block 1. Harvest of clone 113 and clone 667 in Block 3 followed on September 10. Both blocks produced delightful fruit with very little triage (sorting) required, as well as excellent seed and stem ripeness. Although we conducted a second triage de table we were able to submit close to 70% as whole cluster for fermentation. Crop loads were low at 25 hectoliters per hectare (1.75 tons per acre) but skins were thick and acids were perfect with beautiful balance and an amazingly low pH.

The Production
My fascination with the great wines of Burgundy has taken me down the path of artisan style winemaking. I have chosen to rely not only on modern science but my own gut instinct as to how to allow the fruit to develop into the wine that Mother Nature has intended. I have listened to and emulated those Burgundian artisans I most admired, employing their traditional techniques to bring forth the uniqueness of these particular rows within this vineyard.

The grapes undergo a tremendous amount of triage both in the vineyard and in the cellar. I consider this to be one of the most significant practices we employ. We can truly say only the best grapes go into our fermenters. Once received into the cellar, the grapes are sorted again on the table and then go into the fermenters. This whole cluster fermentation technique contributes significantly to the aromatics and texture of our wines. It is the gentlest manipulation of Pinot Noir grapes possible. Once in the fermenters, we cover the cap in dry ice to arrest any spontaneous fermentation. We prefer a pre-fermentation maceration (cold-soaking) to allow enhanced color and flavor extraction in the absence of fermentation for two or three days. During the fermentation, we pigeage (foot tread) twice a day, increasing to five times a day at peak fermentation. The wine is usually pressed of at 1 or 2 Brix into 36-month old, extra-tight grain chateaux Sirugue barrels from the Allier forest in the center of France, of which 40% is new in this vintage. The wine remained in barrel for 22 months without racking and was bottled without fining or filtration. This wine received an additional 14 months of bottle ageing before release on September 1, 2008.

Technical Data
3.36 ph		1,097 - six packs
7.1 g/l		60 - magnums
13.5 % alcohol		5 - 3 liter bottles
.23 ppm dissolved oxygen		2 - 5 liter bottles
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