Croix Estate

WINEMAKER'S RECORD

Candied cranberries, cherry cola, cinnamon, orange rind lead into spiced cream, vanilla bean, fresh tobacco leaf and anise. The palate is at once savory and fruit packed with muddled orange rind and bay leaf, rhubarb, dark blackberry and raspberried hard candy, blue herbs, a touch of barrel vanillin with a substantially long finish. Medium tannins and significant glide round out this compelling rendition from the Sebastopol Hills sub-region.

WAYPOINT GRAPE VARIETY(S): 100% Pinot Noir Clones Vosne-Romanee & Pommard

The Vineyards | 5 Wells Vineyard, Sebastopol Hills

Founded in 2015 by Crawford and Jane Selina Kwon Wells of Sebastopol, Five Wells Vineyard is located at the southernmost edge of the Russian River Valley AVA in the sub-region of Sebastopol Hills. Heavily influenced by the diurnal temperature swings due to atmospheric fog stream outflux and influx zones along the northern edge of the Petaluma Gap AVA, this is cool-climate Pinot Noir at its best.

The Sebastopol Hills area is located just south and southwest of the town of Sebastopol. Not an official AVA, it is an area that became part of the Russian River Valley appellation when that AVA was expanded south in 2005.This 2005 expansion created a segment of the AVA that is very different from the more northern—and warmer—Green Valley, Santa Rosa Plains, and Middle Reach portions of the Russian River Valley. So different, in fact, that many growers are beginning a push to establish the Sebastopol Hills with its own AVA status. It is not uncommon for luxury producers sourcing fruit from this area to label the wine “Sonoma Coast”—as wines from the area are often more characteristic of the cooler Sonoma Coast AVA than the Russian River Valley AVA.

The sub-region is almost entirely hilly terrain. Unlike Freestone-Occidental and Green Valley, elevations here are more moderate, with most vineyards at a range of 200 to 500 feet. As a result, virtually every vineyard in the area is impacted by fog. The central portion of the area is predominantly Goldridge Fine Sandy Loam soils. As you move south and west along the hills that border the Petaluma Gap, many vineyards are planted on Steinbeck and Los Osos Clay Loams. It is somewhat undeveloped relative to other cool-climate Sonoma County areas—there is still a significant amount of acreage in apple orchard in comparison to Green Valley, and there is more suitable, undeveloped and potentially plantable land than Freestone-Occidental and the true Sonoma Coast. The area’s cool weather produces exceptional quality of fruit, and the relatively protected hilly terrain allows growers to obtain balanced yields than the more extreme areas further out west.

PRODUCTION ESSENTIALS

Method | 80% Pellenc Destemmed 20% whole cluster, 5 Day Cold Soak, 100% Carbonic Native Inoculation Open Top Fermentation With Hand Punch Down Cap Submersion

Utilizing Utilizing 100% Native Yeast Primary and Secondary Fermentations.

Aging Regimen | 50% New French Oak

Aging | 16 Months | 8 Barrels