2021 Estate Pinot Meunier
Tasting Notes
Pinot Meunier is a dichotomy; a sip of sunshine and fog at the same time. One day it will be a bright, fresh vision of grace. Think strawberry and pomegranate, perfect for a lively conversation. The next day it will be a brooding, savory wine. Flavors of earthy mushrooms, cinnamon, and blackberry swirl on your palate like clouds on a stormy day. Either way, it’s unique and delicious.
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 Meunier.
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 and cold temperatures. After a 7 day cold soak, fruit is natively fermented in opentop tanks. The wine is then drawn off, and the must is placed in a basket press for gentle pressing. All wines complete malolactic fermentation in French oak barrels. The Meunier blocks are kept on primary lees until bottling to enhance complexity and allow for the finest expression of Carneros.
Tech Sheet
