County Pinot Noir - Nord Clone 667 2023, Trail Estate Winery

Description from the Producer

93 PTS — Rick VanSickle “This is a clonal specific Pinot Noir from estate fruit that spends 10 months in second fill French barrels and bottled unfiltered and unfined. The nose has enticing fresh red berries with added anise, violets, touch of spice and reduction with a subtle note of fresh turned soil. On the palate the ripe raspberries and cherries provide a richer profile with added cassis, polished tannins and a long, luxurious finish bolstered by mouth-watering acidity. 93 PTS — John Szabo, MS “More classically ‘Pinot‘ in style I’d say compared to the “667 Sud”, the same clone of the variety from a different parcel, it also has a little more drive and density I find as well, with a distinctively smoky, rubbery (reductive) note and more evident wood impact. Fruit certainly tends to black, unusual for PEC, accented by damp earth and dried twigs; tannins are fine but grainy and dusty, supported by succulent acids. If I hadn’t seen the labels I'm quite sure I would not have guessed that all that separates the two wines is a minor geographic divergence, so stark are the differences between the two. In the end I give the edge to this bottling for its combination of greater structure and extract and Pinot character, but the real fun is to taste them side by side, so buy in pairs.” Hand pick fruit from 8 rows of our North Block. Sorted in field. One-third was whole cluster fruit was layered onto the bottom of the bin while two-thirds of the fruit was hand destemmed over top the whole cluster. Fermented naturally with punchdowns for 2 weeks prior to pressing. Put to barrel to age for 10 months. Bottled unfined and unfiltered. The 2023 growing season was an EPIC season! Filled with plenty of challenges in the summer — lots of rain, high humidity and lots of heat. In September, the season flipped on its head and we were given the most beautiful ripening season. Grapes showed amazing concentration of flavour and great retention of acidity. The 667 clone is characterized by small berries, which result in a more intense color than many Pinot Noirs, and good tannin structure suitable for aging. This wine is a broad and structured wine. It has a smoky nose with flavours of dark cherries and cranberries on the palate. Taking its time to open up, this wine will continue to develop for many years. Cases Produced: 8 Grower: Trail Estate Winery Harvested: September 30, 2023 Yields: Approx. 1.0 Tonnes/Acre Brix: 21.7 RS: 3.2g/L Alcohol: 12%