This is 100% Melville fruit from their Sta. Rita Hills estate and is a collection of seventeen Pinot Noir clones. 40% of the fruit was fermented as whole-clusters with 60% gently de-stemmed in small 1.5 ton open top fermenters. Total skin and stem contact averaged 30 days (7-day cold soak, 2+ weeks of fermentation and 1+ week extended maceration). From the press, the wine was transferred directly into neutral barrel (15+ year old French oak), where it remained sur lie without sulfur until July, when it was gently racked for the first time and prepared for bottling in August.
ROBERT PARKER'S WINE ADVOCATE 94 POINTS - "The 2022 Pinot Noir Estate was vinified with 40% whole clusters and matured in used oak. The nose is bursting with cranberry, pomegranate, mushrooms, woodsmoke and underbrush. The medium-bodied palate has a core of earth and spice-laced fruit. It has a frame of chalky tannins and juicy acidity and a long, nuanced finish."