DeLoach Pinot Noir 2008

Winemaker’s notes

Enticing red berry fruit aromas blend with rhubarb and cola. Delicate notes of anise and baking spices lace the fruit to unfold a rich palate of black cherries supported by medium fine-grain tannins. The finish lingers with attractive subtle toasty undertones, fine acid, and excellent balance.

Russian River Valley

Climate

With parts of the AVA located less than 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the Pacific, the climate of the Russian River AVA is characterized by cool morning fog that comes in from the ocean through the Petaluma Gap and burns off during the day. This natural air-conditioning allows the grapes to develop full flavor maturity over an extended growing season — often 15 to 20 percent longer than neighboring areas — while retaining their life-giving natural acidity. The cooling influence of the fog is responsible for the large diurnal temperature variation with nighttime temperatures dropping as much as 35 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit (about 20 °C) from daytime high. The Russian River is a rain-fed waterway that swells in the wintertime and provides vital irrigation to the region's vineyards during the dry season in late spring. In the summertime, the warmth of the season is tempered by the maritime influence of fog that facilitates a long, slow ripening period and limits the risk of over ripeness or "baked" flavors in the grapes. Harvest in the Russian River Area often take place at later dates than in its neighboring regions. The central and western reaches of the AVA are the coolest and tend to be most extensively planted with Pinot noir and Chardonnay.

 Soil

The geologic history of the Russian River Valley is both active and recent. The collision between the North American and Pacific tectonic plates caused the uplift of ancient bedrock, which then eroded. Within the last few million years the eruption of volcanic vents immediately to the east resulted in the deposition of volcanic ash on the shallow ocean bottom. The resulting sandstone gave us our famous Goldridge loam soil.

Water flowing off of the Sonoma Mountain range carried with it eroded volcanic material, creating soils with large amounts of clay in the central portion of the appellation. Then, in what remains a major mystery to geologists, the Russian River, which once flowed south to what is now San Francisco Bay, changed course and headed west through the coastal foothills. Along its course it deposited large amounts of alluvial materials that are now river benchlands. Each of these different soils has a profound effect on wine produced from grapes grown in this soil.