Kanzler 2018 Russian River Pinot Noir

As a small, family-owned winery we live our lives amidst the vines. Our vineyard and the rhythms of the season are constant reminders that the soil, the air, the water and the vines are the essence of the wines we craft. We’ve always said that great fruit is the real star of our winemaking team. So we let the grapes take center stage, patiently nurturing the vines to produce fruit with intense, ripe and balanced flavors. Then we let time, traditional winemaking techniques and good French oak work their magic.

Alcohol: 14.4%

The 2018 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir wine is opulent and rich while still displaying great freshness. The classic silky Pinot texture is more chocolate mousse than heavy whipping cream, and the tannins show enough grip to hold and frame the wine without being bitter or obtrusive. The high percentage of once-used barrels imparts a subtle oak characteristic that enhances and compliments the fruit and spice character. After opening for several hours, exotic sweet-spice notes reminiscent of liquors in the Vin Santo or Fernet range begin to appear, further enhancing the intrigue and complexity of this Pinot Noir.

We hand-pick, and hand-sort twice, all our Pinot Noir grapes before placing them in plastic T-bins or stainless-steel fermentation tanks. After a 4-5 day cold soak, we gently heat the must (fresh juice containing seeds and skins) to initiate fermentation. On most lots we allow indigenous yeasts to do the work. With some whole-cluster lots we use cultured yeast to bring out fruit flavors and temper the possible green notes that can occur with whole cluster inclusion. 2-3 times each day, we punch-down the cap. As the wine nears completion, we taper off the punch-down routine and taste daily to see if the wine has the proper structure to be pressed. Some wines are pressed almost immediately when they finish fermentation, while others are left on the skins for several days. We gently basket-press the must, keeping the press wine and free-run wine separate. Then, we select barrels to best complement each lot. Kanzler Vineyards uses 100% French Oak. The 2018 Pinot Noir was barrel aged for 14 months on lees, with 13% new oak, before being blended to stainless steel tanks for an additional month of integration before bottling. The finished wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered.