2020 Petaluma Gap | Marin County Loup Solitaire Pinot Noir
2020 Petaluma Gap | Marin County Loup Solitaire Pinot Noir
2020 Petaluma Gap | Marin County Loup Solitaire Pinot Noir
Initially, the idea for Loup Solitaire was to use fruit from the lower part of my vineyard for this bottling, but all the pinot got declassified one slot after the fires in 2020. The lots intended for the Loup program got sold off to the bulk market and the lots from the top of the vineyard, intended for the flagship pinot bottling, went to the Loup bottling. About half of the more promising pinot lots showed some smoke effect early on, and those were carbon fined to remove most of the smoke character. When the fined and unfined lots were combined, the results fit the Loup profile better than it did the flagship profile -- a little less earth and structure, a little redder and more fruit forward. So, there's no Kendric pinot for 2020, but the Loup benefits from getting the best grapes in the vineyard, for this year at least. The 2020 has verve to spare and shows a little more depth than the 2019. It shows a fairly subtle note of smoke -- subtle to the point that not everyone picks it up when prompted to look for it. To get rid of it entirely would have cost the wine too much of it's fruit, and it just seemed appropriate to leave some marker of the vintage.
Vineyard Designation
Proprietor GrownWinemaker Notes
My second label pinot noir, designed be affordable and ready for early quaffing.| Vintage | 2020 |
|---|---|
| Wine Style | Lighter Red Wine |
| Varietal | Pinot Noir |
| Alcohol % | 13.0 |
| Size | 750 ml |