Croix Estate Summit 19 Pinot Noir, Platt Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
WINEMAKER'S RECORD
Opening with aromatic concentrations of blue fruits, blue herbs, native wild flowers and a dash of fresh salted earth. The mouthfeel engages curiosity with breathtaking expansiveness, acidity and savory glide that finishes with substantial length on the palate. This is a full, yet balanced Pinot Noir that rewards the senses with each sip.
WAYPOINT GRAPE VARIETY(S): 100% Pinot Noir Clone 828, Clone 5
The Vineyards | Platt Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
In Burgundy, France, the highest level of vineyard classification is Grand Cru, or those appellations that are considered the elite within the growing region. While California does not have such a classification system, if ever there were an “elite” vineyard classification system within the Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast appellations, Platt Vineyard would sit squarely within this classification. Located in the western-most hills of Sebastopol, near Freestone, sitting at elevations that range from 400 feet to 800 feet, and situated just 5 miles from the Pacific coastline, the vineyard is planted to a mélange of Pinot Noir clones.
Our Summit 19 vineyard parcel is located square at the peak of the vineyard in blocks 19A and 19B. While ridiculously close to the coastline, this vineyard is deceivingly warm. Taking the drive from the cold (62 degrees) fog-soaked Bodega Highway, one courses the vineyard’s twisting road up the ridgeline and into the summer sun, where daytime temperatures range from the low 70’s to the mid 80’s. This is a spectacular juxtaposition of climate at elevation and serves as the foundation for producing some of Sonoma County’s finest, and most expensive Pinot Noir.
Summit 19 Pinot Noir sees all of the finest treatments that all of our single-vineyard Pinot’s enjoy: hand harvesting, Pellenc sorting, extended cold soaking, cool and slow native fermentations, hand punch-downs, 100% carbonic macerations, free-run juice barreled down to 3-year air dried French oak (50% new) in a combination of cooperages, barrel ageing for 16 months, and bottle aging for a minimum of 8 months before consideration of release.
PRODUCTION ESSENTIALS
Kirk P. Venge
Proprietor & Winemaker | Born 1976, Rutherford CA
Owner of Venge Vineyards & Winery
Earliest Childhood Memory: Tractor Rides In The Vineyards
Method | 15% Wholecluster Open Top Fermentation, 7-day cold soak, 100% carbonic maceration with hand punch-downs, transfer via Gravity Flow to French Oak
Utilizing Utilizing 100% Native Yeast Primary and Secondary Fermentations.
Aging Regimen | 60% New French Oak
Aging | 16 Months | 5 Barrels