2020 Creekside Estate Pinot Noir

2020 Creekside Estate Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir
CA - San Luis Obispo County (Central Coast)
$52.50 / 750 mL Bottle

  • Alcohol 13.9%
  • pH 3.79
Wine Enthusiast 92
Tasting Notes: Aromas: Black cherry, pomegranate, rootbeer, hint herbs. Flavors/Texture: Fruit forward, raspberry, hint vanilla, structured. Color: Dark Garnet.

Notes

In the Vineyard: The 2020 growing season along the coast was spectacular for wine grape growing. Cool nights and mild days without any major heat spikes; just what the vines love! This looks to be a standout vintage. The mild weather allowed us to continue to farm the estate without irrigation in 2020 and our team continues to farm the vineyards without herbicides, part of our stewardship to the environment and health of the soils.

Planted in 2008 the Stolo Creekside Estate Vineyard (white label wines) has matured to produce subtle yet distinctive wine grapes that consistently deliver bright fresh and lively wines. With blocks of: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah, Gewürztraminer, and Sauvignon Blanc historically yielding a total of 2300 cases of Creekside Estate wine.

Designed and planted in 1998 by John Alban the Stolo Hillside Reserve Vineyard (black label wines) sits atop an ancient sea mount of Monterey Shale limestone and thin top soils. This shallow, fractured, limestone is famous for good cation exchange similar to soil types in Champagne, Burgundy, and southern Rhône valleys. This vineyard typically has very small yields of .75 tons per acre.

In the Cellar: Because of the mild growing conditions we were once again able to allow the wines to ferment naturally with native feral yeasts and no intervention. The Hillside Vineyard produces more savory wines and we match this to between 20-30% new french oak fermentations, while the Creekside Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah, prefer an even lighter hand with 15-25% new french oak. To allow the natural expression of each varietal, the balance of the wines are aged in neutral french oak barrique barrels. At the time of writing the wines have not yet come back from critical reviews, however, we anticipate reviews to be flattering and potentially even better than our other recent stellar vintages.

Vineyard/Orchard Name

Stolos Creekside Vineyard, Cambria CA