2017 Foley Estates JA Ranch Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills
90 Points - Wine Enthusiast
This medium to light bodied red wine has aromas of Rainier cherries, dried flowers and subtle sandalwood. The palate is well-balanced with notes of pomegranate, cranberry and hints of orange zest and black tea on the long finish.
Winemaker Notes
We harvested our grapes based on the ripeness of the tannins. For Pinot Noir this usually occurs between 24.5-27.0 Brix with the 2017 coming in at an even 25.0. The clusters were then gently de-stemmed with no crushing. The must was cold-soaked in open-top fermenters for four days. Each tank was manually punched down throughout maceration. Upon completion of primary fermentation and maceration, the free-run wine was transferred to tank for settling. Finally, the individual lots were racked to barrels and aged for 18 months in 30% new French oak prior to blending and bottling.
Composition
100% Pinot Noir
Wine Specs
Vintage
2017
Varietal
Pinot Noir
Appellation
Santa Rita Hills
Acid
6.7 G/l
pH
3.62
Aging
Aged for 18 months in 30% New French Oak
Fermentation
30% new French oak World Cooperage
Bottling Date
April 17, 2019
Alcohol %
14.3
Wine Enthusiast
90
Production Notes
The 2017 vintage was one for the books. From start to finish Mother Nature kept us on our toes, delivering anything and everything except a typical Sta. Rita Hills weather pattern. The season began with an early bud break followed by a few sporadic frost events. Overall, seasonal temperatures were moderate to cool rendering uniform berry set. As the season started winding down the disease pressure intensified but an unexpected blast of extreme heat near Labor Day finally bumped sugars high enough to cue harvest. As temps cooled again, harvest slowed to a steady pace. Four weeks into picking we experienced ten days of high humidity conditions (residual from a tropical storm to the south)
followed by an intense fire season. The final crop yield was moderate and required notable tending.
Vineyard Notes
There’s only one way to describe the Rancho Santa Rosa Vineyard: serene. Located in the Sta. Rita Hills
AVA of Santa Barbara County, these stunning hillsides feature vines that climb from 500 to 1,000 feet
above sea level. The soils are marine-based and the weather is consistently cool thanks to moist ocean breezes that sweep the property daily. The vineyard is farmed with the painstaking care and attention usually associated with much smaller properties. In fact, the vineyard was originally conceived as a series of individual micro-vineyards delineated by soil, exposure, elevation, grade, rootstock and clone.
Production
685 CASES