Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir

"La Bauge Au Dessus"

** Value $35 **

• La Bauge Au-dessus translates as a "wild party up stairs". The original bottlings were from the hillsides of Bien Nacido Vineyard.
• The quality of Le Bon Climat vineyard Pinot Noir was apparent within the first three years, so some of the better lots from both vineyards are blended each year to create another year of the "wild party up stairs".

Varietal Composition: 100% Pinot Noir

Elaboration: fermented in 5 ton open-top fermenters, which are punched down once or twice daily. These punch downs breakup the cap of skins that rises to the surface into the juice so the fermentation process extracts the best part of the Pinot grapes. The wine is pressed to complete dryness and goes to barrel with moderate lees. Our "La Bauge" Pinot Noir is aged in 50% new French oak barrels made by Francois Frères in the heart of Burgundy in the small village of St. Romain. The wine was carefully racked in the spring and then aged another 20 months (24 months total). It was lightly fined with 4 egg whites per barrel, and then bottled unfiltered.

Tasting Notes: A wine of great aromatics and character showing cherry/cranberry fruit, rose petal, earth and spice. The key word is balance. A balance of oak and fruit, a balance of tannin and acid, and a balance elegance and intensity.