Gowan Creek is the home of our winery and offers a perfect mid-valley winegrowing location that combines warmer Anderson Valley elements with coastal fog and cooling influences from the northern end of the valley. In 2009, this unique terroir produced a lavish beast of a wine with a lush, round palate and layers of brooding blackberry, dark plum, wild cherry, earth and Asian spice. Intriguing oak-inspired pencil shaving and oatmeal cookie notes add depth and the wine offers great finishing tannins and spice.
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 Dates: September 14 – October 25, 2009
Average Sugar at Harvest: 25.0° Brix
1 Vineyard Harvested
VARIETAL CONTENT
100% Pinot Noir
COOPERAGE
70% New, 30% Second Vintage French oak
Medium toast: Allier, Vosges and Tronçais Forests
Barrel Aging: 16 Months
TECHNICAL DATA
Alcohol: 14.5%
0.52 g/100 ml titratable acidity
pH: 3.73
Bottled: January 2011
Released: March 2012
92 Points - 2 Stars
Another deep and fully extracted Pinot that manages to be ripe and very well balanced at one and the same time More>