Birichino Pinot Noir 750mL

The 2016 continues our string of savory, silky, and aromatic vintages of pinot noir, emblematic more of Birichino World, than Old or New.  
 

As with the first vintage back in 2011, George Besson’s vineyard in the lee of the Santa Cruz Mountains plays a starring role.  A field-grafted, rockier, steeper section of his site now lends additional support to its bright, lifted, red-fruited floral hallmark. With the main block at Besson nearing thirty, its great natural balance and even maturation has allowed us to include an increasing proportion of whole clusters.  We were also lucky to find a site in the Arroyo Seco AVA whose supple texture and delicate aromatics dovetail nicely with George’s fruit.  
 

Finally, several barrels of our Lilo Santa Cruz Mountains and Antle Chalone pinots civilize and invigorate, respectively, the final blend.  As always, this wine was vinified under the mysterious and prismatic auspices of wild yeast and bottled without filtration, though this year for this first time a third of the volume was aged in cement while we entrusted our quite old barriques for the remainder.  

pH 3.75  

TA 5.6 g/l  

Alc. 13.5%