Scribe Winery Carneros Pinot Noir 2023

The Pinot Noir grapes come from three vineyards across the Carneros AVA. This wine is made up of a blend of equal parts of clones Dijon 777, known for being dark and rich and produces rich, velvety and complex wines; Dijon 115, which delivers pure Pinot Noir flavours and Pommard, which delivers pure, dark fruit. Two of the vineyards, Sandbach and El Novillero, are both within a five-mile radius of the Scribe Estate and remainder are on similar Huichica soils. The third, the Reinke Vineyard, lies a little further east on Bressa-Dibble clay loam soils. All three vineyards benefit from the cooling influence from the winds of the San Pablo Bay, which creates a cooler mesoclimate resulting in slow, even ripening, which helps to build concentrated fruit flavours, while retaining natural, balancing acidity. The grapes are hand-harvested at night to preserve the fresh vibrancy in the fruit.

The grapes were fermented with native, wild yeasts, with 30% vinified as whole clusters which impart freshness and complexity to the wine. Vinification took place in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats, retaining the purity of fruit. Maturation lasted for seven months; 90% was aged in neutral French oak, 10% in new French oak, before being bottled without fining, to retain the fullest expression.

Decanter wrote of the 2021 vintage: "Well defined with notes of red forest fruits, dried herbs and sweet spices. Showing top-level winemaking, the palate is earthy and tactile, with delicate finesse. Ethereal style with lots of fruits, a harmonious silky texture completes the wonder finish. 93pts"