RouteStock

California: Napa Valley, United States
California: Sonoma Coast, United States

Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast — 2022

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  • Introduction

    • RouteStock is an invitation to discover the deep roots of winemaking in Napa and Sonoma, planted firmly at each step of your journey through our vineyard sites. Every glass tells the story of Napa and Sonoma’s remarkable fine wine heritage, from the famous routes that wind between the vineyards, to the roots that produce its world-renowned grapes. An endeavor of enduring Napa-based importer Wilson Daniels, RouteStock is established as a product that consistently over-delivers in quality at a very attractive price point.

      At the core of RouteStock is our commitment to sourcing great fruit from high-end vineyards along well-known routes in the Napa Valley and Sonoma Coast. We partner with a select group of dedicated grape-growers in the best viticultural areas for each of our varietals and we work hand-in-hand with all our growers during the cultivation season including our own estate vineyard. We practice minimal intervention in our winemaking to help the grapes show their true character, using native yeasts, natural malolactic fermentation, 100% barrel aging, and no chemical additions. Our intent is to let the grapes and vintage tell us what kind of wine they should be – we never try to force the wine into a specific mold, but rather serve as a guide on its journey.

  • Vineyard Profile

    • Grape Source: 2022 marks the second vintage we have included fruit from our estate vineyard into the blend along with fruit from our two long-term growers, one in the southern end of Sonoma Coast near Carneros and the other to the northwest of our vineyard, about two miles inland from the Pacific Ocean.
    • Appellation: Sonoma Coast
  • Vintage Report

    • The 2022 vintage began with drought and ended with an unprecedented 10-day heatwave, and in between it was a beautiful growing season. Bud-break was a bit early, as was flowering, yet veraison was a little behind schedule. As we prepared for harvest, a major heatwave was forecasted for early September that brought 10-days of temperatures between 105F and 113F in all three of our pinot vineyards, so we chose to harvest our most southern Sonoma Coast vineyard on August 31st to hedge against the ensuing heat. Our estate vineyard was harvested next on September 5th, and lastly our most northern vineyard was harvested on September 7th.

  • Vinification

    • Aging: 11 months in 100% French oak; 88% neutral and 12% new
  • Technical Information

    • Varietal Composition: 100% Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
    • Alcohol: 13.5%
    • TA: 5.48 g/L
    • p H: 3.69
  • Tasting Notes

    • The wine has a vibrant medium-light Burgundy color with effusive aromas of sweet red and black fruits (raspberry and blackberry), rosemary, and orange blossom. The flavors are both lithe and brooding at the same time with the same raspberries and blackberries from the aroma along with a beautiful richness of sauteed mushrooms, wild sage, and soy sauce. The wine is medium-bodied, full of rich pinot noir flavor with an exotically long finish.