2017 Flowers Pinot Noir Camp Meeting Ridge
2017 Flowers Pinot Noir Camp Meeting Ridge; Sonoma Coast, California
Bright Bing cherry, sappy herbs, violets, and spring flower notes all emerge from the glass, and it’s a more focused, linear, edgy Pinot Noir that shows the vintage. It should benefit from short-term cellaring (1-2 years) and keep nicely through 2029.
Pinot Noir is the dominant red wine grape of Burgundy, now adopted (and extensively studied) in wine regions all over the world. The variety’s elusive charm has carried it to all manner of vineyards. These extend from western Germany (as Spätburgunder) and northern Italy to Chile, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the USA. California, Oregon and New Zealand are arguably the greatest centers for the grape outside its home territory. However great Pinot Noir is made in all of these territories. The essence of Pinot Noir wine is its aroma of red berries and cherry (fresh red cherries in lighter wines and stewed black cherries in weightier examples). Many of the more complex examples show hints of forest floor. Well-built Pinot Noirs, particularly from warmer harvests, suggest leather and violets, sometimes recalling Syrah.
Flowers Vineyard & Winery is a Californian wine producer, within the Sonoma CoastAVA (American Viticultural Area). It specializes in producing high-quality wine from the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grape varieties.
The flagship wine from the Flowers’ wine portfolio is the Moon Select, which is named after the process of selecting the best parcels of Chardonnay fruit from the estate vineyard. It is fermented in French oak barrels with the use of wild yeasts from the winery and vineyards prior to barrel-aging for 14 months.
Multiple other Chardonnay wines accompany two Pinot Noir wines in the portfolio. There is a strong maritime influence across the range with the estate vineyards as well as externally sourced fruit all within a close proximity to the Pacific coastline.