Featuring both hillside and valley floor plantings, Confluence Vineyard is one of the most diverse properties in our Estate portfolio—and the warmest. In 2009, this resulted in a powerful wine with gorgeous fruit and spice layers, as well as more sophisticated elements of pennyroyal, cola and moist, dark earth. Though there is excellent acidity and abundant high-tone red fruit notes, as the wine develops it reveals power and depth with more dark berry and chocolate layers that lead to a long mineral and spice finish.
The 2009 harvest began at a measured pace in our Confluence and Gowan Creek vineyards, before the arrival of a ten-day heat wave. This heat wave was beneficial for two main reasons. Not only did it push the fruit in the warmer end of our valley to perfect ripeness, it allowed the vineyards in the colder “deep end” to catch up from a cool growing season. Just as important, the heat was followed by an extended cool-down, which essentially “held” the fruit in perfect balance as we picked block by block to garner the best wines.
HARVEST INFORMATION
Appellation: Anderson Valley
Harvest Date: September 10 – October 8, 2009
Average Sugar at Harvest: 25.0° Brix
1 Vineyard Harvested
VARIETAL CONTENT
100% Pinot Noir
COOPERAGE
70% New, 30% Second French oak
Medium toast: Allier, Vosges and Tronçais Forests
Barrel Aging: 16 Months
TECHNICAL DATA
Alcohol: 14.5%
0.57 g/100 ml titratable acidity
pH: 3.73
Bottled: January 2011
Released: March 2012
91 Points - Year's Best Pinot Noirs
From a warm spot in the Anderson Valley just south of Philo, Confluence grows a big wine, black, smooth and substantial. More>
90 Points
Complex and fascinating aromas of roses and barnyard, sweet oak and juicy, ripe-cherry fruit make for a most interesting start here, and, if still a bit on the simple and unde¬veloped side in the mouth, the wine is deep, well-extracted and filled with potential. More>