Summary

Vineyard planted in 1995
Vine spacing 6' x 8'
Vine Density: 908 vines per acre
Clones/selections: Dijon 115, Swan, and Pommard
Rootstock: 110R and 1103P
Eastern exposure

3.59 pH
0.66 g/100mL titratable acidity
14.1% alcohol by volume
Yield: 2.0 tons of grapes per acre
Barrel aging: 18 months, 60% new French oak
339 cases produced

Vineyards and Winemaking

With panoramic views of northern California's Coast Range, Thorn Ridge is an ideal spot for a picnic on a warm summer day. With a weather pattern that runs in 3-5 day cycles of alternate hot and cold, however, this great spot for an outing becomes downright inhospitable during the cold portion of the cycle. Sitting southwest of Sebastopol on the northern edge of the Petaluma Gap, Thorn Ridge is a magnet for cold air and fog, just the right elements for superb Pinot noir grapes. The soils are low-vigor silt and the vineyard receives so little irrigation that it is for all intents and purposes dry farmed.

Heavy rains late in the season delayed bloom, setting the stage for a late harvest. The summer growing season was relatively cool and mild, with few heat spikes. The trend continued with a slide into a cool, foggy September and the fruit spent extended time on the vines, allowing for a gradual evolution to full flavor and tannin development. The grapes were finally picked October 1 and 7, about two weeks later than normal.

The grapes were harvested in the middle of the night, keeping the fruit cold and preserving the fresh fruit character. Once in the winery, 75% of the grapes were destemmed and 25% dumped in the bottom of the fementer as whole clusters. The native fermentation started slowly after a pre-fermentation maceration of six days. A very small inoculum of RC-212 Yeast was added to insure completion of the fermentation. After seven days of fermentation, the wine remained on the skins until pressing 34 days after the grapes were picked. The wine underwent malolactic fermentation and eighteen months of aging in new and two-year-old French oak barrels from Francois Freres, Dargaud et Jaegle, Cadus, Remond, and Marcel Cadet.

Tasting Notes

The nose of the 2005 Thorn Ridge Pinot noir is a complex mélange of black plum, red cherry, and a hint of strawberry overlaid on an alluring core of tarry bass notes. The mouth is both structured and voluptuously mouthwatering with notes of Bing cherry and a slight “hint of corruption” of the sort that lends interest and complexity to the finest perfumes. Dark cherry fruit lingers from the initial entry into a very long, persistent finish.