Belle Glos Clark and Telephone Vineyard Pinot Noir 2002

"This is spectacular Pinot, which defines its South Coast terroir, is a great wine. The extracted fruit is massive, flooding the palate with cherries and raspberries, and the wine is well-oaked. Yet it combines its power with regal grace, which is what Pinot is supposed to do. Finishes with a silky, velvety harmony. Really an eye-opening wine, superb in every respect."
-Wine Enthusiast

With the 2002 vintage, we took what was already a low-yielding vineyard, which have been farming since 2000, and reduced the crop even more radically to increase the flavor concentration in the berries. When we hand harvested the grapes-from September 10 to October 4-we ended up with just over one ton per acre. The quality was so high and the flavors so distinctive that we felt this wine deserved to be named for the vineyard-located at the intersection of Clark Avenue and Telephone Roads. The wine has a dark scarlet, opaque color. Its aromas suggest cranberry with spicy notes of peppercorn, cumin and ginger. In the mouth, pepper-spice notes give way to strawberry flavors and firm acidity. The tannins are silky but firm, the texture is mouthcoating. The long, lingering finish combines notes of spicy tobacco and strawberry with sweet, toasty oak and hints of black licorice.