92points
2021 Mt. Eden Clone Estate Pinot Noir
Tasting Notes
How many of you have climbed a mountain? Like a serious mountaineering climb. We at Bouchaine are doing our part to make you an active climber, because we’ve got an adventure for you—and it doesn’t require new gear, just a corkscrew and a glass. The Mt. Eden Clone Pinot Noir begins with a gentle stroll up the slopes of your palate. The smooth entry quickly transitions to a dense core as you journey on, eventually leading to a crescendo of powerful flavors at the peak. The air won’t be thin up here, but you just might be out of breath anticipating your next sip.
Wine Score
92
“An enticing, dark and winey style, with a core of lush blackberry and boysenberry puree flavors, carried by a hint of bramble and backed by licorice and black tea on the toasty finish. A crowd-pleaser. Drink now through 2027. 425 cases made.” —James Molesworth
Wine Spectator
Description
Bouchaine’s 100-acre estate vineyard lies on the southern border of Napa Valley’s Carneros district, overlooking the San Francisco bay with the financial district in the distance. Fog, wind, and the cold night time temperatures of this unique geographical area lend a distinctive regional identity to our Pinot Noir.
Growing Season
The 2021 growing season will be remembered as a winemaker’s vintage. Not too cold, not too hot, not too wet, and no frost. However, we were in the grips of a multiyear drought. While we enjoy dry farming when we have average rainfall, in vintages where the rainfall is half of average (like 2021) we do irrigate to allow for ideal shoot growth and ripening. Bouchaine is lucky to have a huge reservoir so we were able to irrigate early in the season to get our vine canopies full. Drought conditions do have some positives when it comes to winemaking as they bring us smaller berries with beautifully concentrated flavors at harvest. We also lucked out with consistent weather throughout the summer giving us ideal ripening at an even pace. A little sun, a bit of water, and a lot of hard work in the vineyard allowed us to bring in a killer 2021 vintage!
Vinification
All fruit is hand-harvested at night, preserving berry integrity. After a 7-day cold soak, fruit is fermented with native yeast in open top tanks. The wine is then drawn off and the must is placed into a basket press for gentle pressing. All wines complete malolactic fermentation in French oak barrels. We take a hands off approach to this single vineyard block of Calera, keeping it on primary lees right up until bottling for added nuance and depth.
Tech Sheet
