BLEND & GRAPE SOURCES:
100% estate-grown Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir from Freestone Vine-yard (66%), Ferguson Vineyard (21%) and Quarter Moon Vineyard (13%).

HARVEST DATES: September 26 – October 5, 2005.

WINEMAKING DATA:
Aging regime: Twelve months in French oak barrels (40% new, 60% one- to two-years-old) before bottling in January, 2007.

COOPERS: Francois Frères, Remond, Chassin and Rousseau.

This is our second year of creating a Fogdog Pinot Noir from the Freestone Vineyards. Though 2005 was a challenging vintage along the true coastal region where Freestone is located, we were able to produce a fresh, vibrant Pinot Noir with lively spices and wild strawberry flavors that linger on the palate. The tannin and acidity are well balanced and provide a structure that will help this wine to age nicely in the bottle. We suggest decanting the wine prior to serving.

THE GROWING SEASON
The 2005 vintage in Sonoma County can be characterized generally as high yield and late ripening with good sugar and acid balance. The rugged coastal climate in Freestone, however, provided some challenges such as poor berry set in some blocks, spring frost damage and botrytis, all of which yielded a smaller than expcted crop in some vineyards.

With a lot of attention and application of our biodynamic sprays and teas, the vines focused all of their energies on the smaller crop and provided grapes with concentrated and expressive regional flavors.