2017 Joseph Phelps Pinot Noir Freestone Vineyards

2017 Joseph Phelps Pinot Noir Freestone Vineyards

2017 Joseph Phelps Pinot Noir Freestone Vineyards The 2017 Pinot Noir Freestone Vineyard was made using about 20% whole cluster and aged for 13 months in 34% new French oak. Pale to medium ruby-purple in color, it has a very open, gregarious nose of dried rose petals, potpourri, tree bark, red licorice and ripe red and black fruits with pretty spicy notes of cinnamon stick and clove. Light to medium-bodied, it has good layers of spicy, perfumed fruit in the mouth, with soft, grainy tannins and great freshness, finishing long and spicy.

Joseph Phelps Vineyards is a family-owned winery committed to crafting world class, estate-grown wines. Founded in 1973 when Joe Phelps purchased a former cattle ranch near St. Helena in the Napa Valley, the winery now controls and farms nearly 375 acres of vines on eight estate vineyards in St. Helena, the Stags Leap District, Oakville, Rutherford, Oak Knoll District, Carneros and South Napa Valley. In 1999, the Phelps family added 100 acres of vineyard property near the town of Freestone on the Sonoma Coast, where Phelps now grows Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Phelps is best known for its flagship Napa Valley blend of red Bordeaux varietals, Insignia, first produced in 1974. Awarded Wine Spectator‘s “Wine of the Year” in 2005, Insignia is widely regarded as a qualitative benchmark for California winemaking.

A vast appellation covering Sonoma County’s Pacific coastline, the Sonoma Coast AVA runs all the way from the Mendocino County border, south to the San Pablo Bay. The region can actually be divided into two sections—the actual coastal vineyards, marked by marine soils, cool temperatures and saline ocean breezes—and the warmer, drier vineyards further inland, which are still heavily influenced by the Pacific but not quite with same intensity.

The Sonoma Coast is highly regarded for elegant Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and, increasingly, cool-climate Syrah. The wines have high acidity, moderate alcohol, firm tannin, and balanced ripeness.