Senchuk Vineyard Pinot Noir 2020, Leaning Post Wines

Description from the Producer

Tasting Notes:
There is no way around it, this is the fullest and densest Senchuk Pinot yet! Incredible weight, density and structure are the most obvious, however acidity and freshness make the wine still incredibly well balanced.
Nose: The number of layers seems to unfold endlessly on the nose; black and red cherry, pomegranate, sugar-beets, and a mossy/brambly character are all there as usual, along with herbal notes of tarragon, sage and oregano that have become the signature of our vineyard.
Palate: On the palate, kirsch and mulberry lead (again), however tan-leather, fennel seed, cured-meat and pan-drippings follow almost immediately. Forest floor, bramble and a gravelly stoniness do eventually dominate the finish, with a final wave of wintergreen and basil reminding us where this wine is from.
Finish: With a final sweep of tannin and acid, the finish goes out slowly, almost incrementally, and so smoothly and gracefully it almost defies belief. Full-bodied yet balance has always been our philosophy and we feel than in many ways epitomizes those aspirations.
Winemaker's Notes:
2020 is the sixth vintage of our flagship Pinot Noir from our estate Senchuk Vineyard, and certainly the richest, and most full-bodied so far. The 2020 was a phenomenal growing season, with warmth and sunshine throughout. Things cooled down perfectly in the fall and remained essentially sunny and dry with only a few (needed) rain events. As a result the grapes from Senchuk Vineyard were amazingly balanced, fully phenolic ripeness, yet with great freshness and acidity, moderate alcohol and tannic structure for which our vineyard has become known.
Hand-picked and hand-sorted on September 23rd , the grapes were partly de-stemmed (70% destemmed, 30% whole-cluster), partially crushed and left to soak on skins prior to fermentation. After 3 days, fermentation occurred spontaneously in concrete fermenters. During fermentation, the skins were punched-down by hand 2 times per day. Once fermentation was finished, the wine remained on skins for 5 days before being gently pressed. It was then transferred to French oak barrels (33% new, 16% 1-year-old, 51% older) and aged for 18 months. The 2020 Senchuk Pinot Noir was bottled on August 30, 2022.