Martinelli 'Sonoma Coast' Pinot Noir 2018

Wine Spectator 93
"Big and exuberantly fruity, with cherry, raspberry and red currant flavors that are backed by luscious acidity and tannins. Offers forest bark and loam accents midpalate, with ripe spiciness on the finish. Drink now through 2025. 94 cases made."

Tasting Notes
"The lively nose on our 2018 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir is filled with the aromas of strawberry, ripe raspberry and tobacco leaf. It is well rounded throughout the mouth with flavors of red cherry and strawberry preserves that complement the velvety finish."

The Wine
Each vineyard block goes through meticulous sample testing and is picked at optimum brix levels to ensure mature, ripe fruit flavors. After being picked, the fruit undergoes a five-day cold soak to maximize the early extraction of flavor and color. This is followed by a wild yeast fermentation that promotes greater character and depth when the wine matures. Sugar and malolactic fermentations are completed in barrel, and the wine is sur lie aged in 80% new French oak for 16 months. The wine is neither heat nor cold stabilized, is un-fined and un-filtered, and is clarified only by racking before bottling. Case Production: 214

Winemaker Notes
The 2018 season was much calmer than 2017, due to the absence of extra rain and heat spikes we experiences in 2017. The moderate temperature in the spring and summer allowed for a longer growing season and full flavor development. There was plenty of water in the soil to carry the clusters through the long growing season with minimal dehydration. Our first day of harvest in 2018 was September 10th, compared with an August 26th start in 2017. It was nice that the production crew could enjoy the Labor Day holiday right before the long hours and hard work of harvest began.

Vineyard Notes
This wine is mostly a blend of our Pinot Noir vineyards from the northern Sonoma Coast in the Fort Ross - Seaview AVA. Carolyn Martinellis family homesteaded this property in the 1860s, when her family came to California by wagon train and have been the owners ever since. The cool maritime influence from the Pacific makes these vineyard sites ideal for growing the cool climate Burgundian varietal.

The Estate
The Martinelli family has been growing grapes in the Russian River Valley since 1887. At the ages of 19 and 16, Giuseppe Martinelli and Luisa Vellutini left their small village in the Tuscany region of Italy and made their way to California looking for land to farm and start a winery. Giuseppe had been a winemaker in Italy and with his viticultural knowledge he was hired to plant a vineyard for a farmer in Forestville. 100 years later, the historic Martinelli Estate vineyards are farmed by Lee Martinelli, Sr., and sons Lee, Jr. and George Martinelli. The wines are made by winemaker Bryan Kvamme. These handcrafted wines are unfined, unfiltered, neither cold nor heat stabilized and may contain naturally occurring sediment.

The Martinelli family has been growing grapes in the Russian River Valley since 1887. At the ages of 19 and 16, Giuseppe Martinelli and Luisa Vellutini left their small village in the Tuscany region of Italy and made their way to California looking for land to farm and start a winery. Giuseppe had been a winemaker in Italy and with his viticultural knowledge he was hired to plant a vineyard for a farmer in Forestville. 100 years later, the historic Martinelli Estate vineyards are farmed by Lee Martinelli, Sr., and sons Lee, Jr. and George Martinelli. The wines are made by winemaker Bryan Kvamme. These handcrafted wines are unfined, unfiltered, neither cold nor heat stabilized and may contain naturally occurring sediment.