Kanzler Pinot Noir 2021, Russian River Valley, California

“We hand-pick and hand-sort (twice) all our Pinot Noir grapes before placing them in plastic T-bins or stainless-steel fermentation tanks. After a 4-5 day cold soak, we gently heated the must to initiate fermentation, using a mix of both commercial and indigenous yeasts. 2-3 times each day, we punched-down the cap. Once fermentation completed, we gently basket-pressed the must keeping the press wine and free-run wine separate. Then we select barrels to best complement each lot. Kanzler Vineyards uses 100% French Oak. The 2019 Pinot was barrel aged for 14 months on lees, with 20% new oak, before being blended and sent to stainless for an additional month of integration before bottling. The finished wine was bottled un-fined and unfiltered.” 2020 vintage: Aromatics: Violet, blueberry, huckleberry, green olives, cured meat, pine needles. Flavors: Darjeeling tea, red berries, integrated French oak, dark chocolate, star anise, pepper. Textures: Layered and intense with long, broad, tingling finish. As only Pinot Noir can accomplish, the wine is dense and powerful but light on its feet.