2016 TREEHOUSE PINOT NOIR

VINTAGE NOTES

The 2016 vintage—the last of the recent drought years—delivered a sustained but commanding performance.

After a cold snap in the beginning of January, lack of rain and warm weather brought an early bud break. Mother Nature decided to get feisty in late spring, delivering a heat spike that lasted well into the early summer. Mercifully, August was milder than July, which slowed down maturation of the flavor and phenolics.

Temperatures rose slightly again in September but cooled off later in the month stretching out the harvest. This late-season mellow gave us extended time between picks during harvest. That, in turn, translated into heightened flavor development and greater depth in the wines.

Ultimately, we started picking about two and a half weeks earlier than average, and yield was about 85 to 90 percent of the annual average this decade. Harvest pace was good and even, and we picked in multiple small passes to unlock the purity of the fruit. This strategy enabled us to create numerous individual lots, that we later blended together to make the complex and nuanced wines you have before you. As always, the finished product reflects the very best of the site.

TASTING NOTES

Aromatics: Fresh cranberry, pomegranate and dense raspberries, softly muddled with cardamom, cinnamon and coriander with a small amount of dried blood orange zest.

Flavors: Multitude of soft red fruits, schnozberry, wrapped in thin red apple skin.

Texture: Creamy, with an eddy of velvety taffeta, fine tannins that linger and settle deeply throughout, boomeranging from front to back then resting on the mid palate.

”This late-season mellow gave us extended time between picks during harvest. That, in turn, translated into heightened flavor development and greater depth in the wines.”

WHY WE HOLD OUR WINES BACK

Our plan was always to release the wines once they had time to develop. We’ve always believed that a little extra time in our cellar makes the experience a little better in yours. While these wines are enjoyable now, they will certainly benefit from age and cellar gracefully over the coming years. If possible, we recommend decanting before enjoying.

TECHNICAL DATA

Harvest Dates: 9/3/16 till 9/9/16
Clones: 23, 37, 115, Calera, Pommard, Swan, CC
Alcohol: 14.0%    pH: 3.59    Acidity: 6.2
Production: 530 c/s    Yield per acre: 2.1 tons