Brutocao Family Vineyards

Pinot Noir

WINE 22

FRUITY & ELEGANT

The grapes come from the Philo winery in Anderson Valley, which has its own appellation due to the special climatic conditions. The grape clones come from Pommard in Burgundy. Early morning harvest in hand followed by 6 days of maceration with half crushed and half whole grapes before fermentation.

FRUGTIG & ELEGANT

Druerne kommer fra Philo vingården i Anderson Valley, der har sin egen appellation pga. de særlige klimaforhold. Drueklonerne er bl.a. fra Pommard i Bourgogne. Tidlig morgenhøst i hånden fulgt af 6 dages maceration med halvt knuste- og halvt hele druer før gæringen.

FACTS

Country: USA

Region: California, Mendocino

Winery: Brutocau Family Vineyards

Year: 2017

Type: Red

Grapes: Pinot Noir

Alcohol: 13%

Aging: Oak barrels

Closure: Cork

Winemaking: Sustainable

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ABOUT THE WINERY

BRUTOCAO FAMILY VINEYARDS

Brutocao started with Irv Bliss, a farmer in Sonoma in the early 1930s, who dreamed of having a vineyard up north in Mendocino, which he considered most suitable for viticulture. In 1943, the opportunity came when a 180-acre vineyard he had previously looked longingly at, came for sale. After 35 years of hard work, his son-in-law Leonardo Brutocao took over in the late 70s. In 1991, a brand new winery was built, and his three sons joined the operation and specialized themselves in field work, vinification and marketing.

Brutocao begyndte med Irv Bliss, der var farmer i Sonoma først i 1930-erne og drømte om at få en vingård nordpå i Mendocino, som han mente mest velegnet til vindyrkning. I 1943 kom muligheden, da en 180 hektar vingård, han tidligere havde set længselsfuldt på, kom til salg. Efter 35 års hårdt arbejde overtog hans svigersøn Leonardo Brutocao i slutningen af 70-erne. I 1991 blev et helt nyt vineri bygget, og hans tre sønner indgik i driften og specialiserede sig i hhv. markarbejde, vinifikation og afsætning.

General grape descriptions

Pinot Noir

The fashionable red burgundy grape is capable of producing divinely scented, gorgeously fruity expressions of place but often unwilling or unable to do so. Pinot Noir is sensitive to the size of crop it is expected to produce, and many vapid examples exemplify an over-demanding yield. It ripens relatively early so is not suitable for very warm regions where there would be no time to develop interesting flavours before acid levels plummet. On the other hand, many of the cooler regions in which it thrives suffer autumn rains which can rot Pinot's thin-skinned berries, resulting in pale, tainted wines. The Pinot Noir grower's lot is not an easy one.

This ancient eastern French vine is, with Gouais Blanc, parent of a host of other varieties including Chardonnay, Gamay and the Muscadet grape Melon de Bourgogne. Because it is so old, there are many well-established mutations such as Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Meunier and there is enormous variation in wine quality between different clones. Planting the wrong clone in the wrong place is one of many reasons for the wide variation in quality between different red burgundies and different varietal Pinot Noirs from elsewhere.

The positive side of all this is that Pinot Noir is a very transparent grape. It really can communicate the difference in terroir, or grape-growing environment, between adjacent plots of vineyard.