The Harvest
There is no question that I think very highly of the 2001 vintage. Though we experienced very little rain throughout the year and no rain during the spring bloom, underground aquifers supplied the essential water with only moderate stress to the vines. This continuing drought meant cluster weights were off by 40% and overall yields were quite low. At Lafond we harvested about 1.8 tons per acre or less than 1 kilo per plant.

The Vineyard
Lafond sits along Santa Rosa Road in the Santa Rita Hills AVA, part of the western Santa Ynez Valley. This is an area that has recently become the hotbed for Pinot Noir boasting other great properties such as Fiddlestix Vineyard, Sanford and Benedict Vineyard, and Seasmoke to name a few. The Lafond family chose to work with multiple clones and multiple rootstocks and planted to a very tight 4 X 6 spacing utilizing a vertical shoot positioning trellis. The soil is comprised of sandy and gravelly loam providing good drainage.

For this wine we selected clone 115 and Pommard clone 4 both planted on 101 / 14 rootstock. Harvest began on September 6th (a great way to celebrate a birthday) handpicking 5.38 tons of clone 115 and 5.69 tons of clone 4. The fruit was in pristine condition and less than a ton was discarded on the triage table that morning.

The Production
Approximately 20% of the fruit was retained as whole cluster with the balance destemmed but not crushed. The pH in the juice was slightly elevated, possible due to the salinity in the soil as a result of the drought, so an adjustment of 1 gram per liter of Tartaric was added. Juice was cold soaked to 14 degrees centigrade for 5 days. The total cuvaison lasted 12 days and peak fermentation reached 32 degrees centigrade.

Free run was transferred directly to barrel from fermenters and the press wine went directly to barrel from the press. 100 % new French Oak from Francois Freres was the selected vessels for elevage. The wines were racked after the second winter into one and two year old barrels. Total elevage lasted 22 months. The finished wine was bottled without fining or filtration and aged in bottle 14 months before release.

The Wine
This is a fairly dark brooding wine with excellent grip and dark fruits of black cherries and plums. It deserves to be served with richer fare to balance its youthfulness.