2018 Earth Pinot Noir
Celestial Series
Varietal: 100% Pinot Noir
Appellation: 100% Russian River Valley
pH: 3.58
TA: 6.63
Oak: 26% New French
Crafting the Earth is always a lesson in hedonism. Common knowledge dictates Pinot Noir generally lives in the cooler climates off the coast, with the influence of the Pacific ocean dominating its terroir. We generally respect that dogma, but for this particular blend we thought it would be interesting to do things a little bit differently. So a hypothesis was created: We bet that meticulously farmed Pinot Noir grown in slightly less cool climates, particularly the more eastern portions of the Russian River, would still be delicious. And Earth is the proof of this hypothesis. Egregious fruit, chewy tannins, forest remnants, and we think damn fine wine.
The nose is enticing with clove, nutmeg, brown sugar, cherry pie, damp earth, and vanilla bean. The palate is super smooth, layer after layer of soft, rich tannin coating the tongue. The mid-palate flavors move so seamlessly to the finish, with lively strawberry, blackberry, chocolate, and spice all present and lingering on the tongue.
