Domain Carneros Pinot Noir 2009

The palate delivers cedar, juicy red fruit flavors, and a persistent hint of dark chocolate with a broad richness of even-tempered tannin that stretches into a long finish.

With all due respect to 2007, the 2009 might just be the vintage of the decade! Rain during berry set allowed only a modest crop level. But, the coolest summer in 20 years provided a long and mild growing season where our estate grown organic fruit attained full ripeness at a leisurely pace.

Domaine Carneros Pinot Noir begins in our four different Certified Organic (CCOF) estate vineyards. A selection of eleven different clones/selections of Pinot Noir all contributed their unique personality to make a compelling blend.

The fruit was gently de-stemmed, leaving many whole berries. A “cold soak” followed for five full days prior to fermentation, which took 9 to 12 days in small open-topped vats. The fermenting must was punched three times a day to heighten color and flavor development. After pressing off, the finished wine went directly into French oak barrels where it was gently racked once during the 10 months of barrel aging.

Region & Climate

The Carneros, which means ‘the Ram’ in Spanish, is an AVA (American Viticultural Appellation). It is the first American appellation to be defined by climate rather than along political lines. It is bordered by the San Pablo Bay to the south, the Mayacamas Mountains to the north and spans the southern ends of both Napa and Sonoma counties.

 The Carneros Appellation: An Ideal Climate

The Domaine Carneros estate extends over 138 acres in the Carneros appellation. Situated in the very heart of the Carneros region, Domaine Carneros stands alone as the only sparkling wine producer using exclusively Carneros grapes for the super-premium methode-champenoise. 

The Carneros appellation is characterized by a long, moderately cool growing season tempered by the maritime breezes and lingering fog of the San Pablo Bay just to the west. This environment, with temperatures slightly cooler than Burgundy yet slightly warmer than Champagne, provides optimum conditions for the slow, even ripening and perfect acidic balance in the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes, the principal grapes used in making champagne.

History

In the late 1970’s, Claude Taittinger, the president of Champagne Taittinger, proclaimed his faith in the future of American wines and began the search on U.S. soil for a suitable winery site. In 1987, Champagne Taittinger, along with partner Kobrand Corporation, selected a 138 acre parcel in the heart of Carneros, a viticultural appellation they recognized to have the potential to produce world class sparkling wines. Also in 1987, Claude Taittinger selected Eileen Crane to oversee the planning and development of the property, as the winery’s first and only winemaker.

CEO/Founding Winemaker Eileen Crane has been at the helm of Domaine Carneros since the first harvest and continues to oversee and direct winemaking and operational duties.

From the beginning, Domaine Carneros has built a reputation on sparkling wines, in particular our Brut Vintage and luxury cuvée Le Rêve Blanc de Blancs. In addition, in the early years of the winery we sold our Pinot Noir fruit to some of California’s top producers for a number of years. We naturally came to the conclusion that we had something special on our hands for the creation of red wine. Beginning in 1992, we added the production of Pinot Noir to the Domaine Carneros repertoire. Our Pinot Noir is characterized by rich, red fruit flavor, layers of complexity and a velvety finish.

All of our wines bear the Carneros Appellation, with 95% of our fruit coming from estate vineyards. In April 2008, we received organic certification of all Estate vineyards by the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF).