EMERITUS, RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY
ESTATE BOTTLED PINOT NOIR, 2007 VINTAGE

The home ranch of Emeritus Vineyards lies along Sonoma County's Gold Ridge-a ten-mile-long, low ridge running from Sebastopol to Forestville, in the heart of the Russian River Valley. Rolling hills slope to the southwest giving the vines optimum sun exposure, allowing the grapes to ripen with vibrant flavors, sensuous velvety texture, and seductive aromas. This Gold Ridge is America's Cote d'Or, home to many of the emerging top-flight Pinot Noirs produced in California.

2007 VINTAGE NOTES
2007 is the vintage by which all Pinot Noir will be judged. Grape growers wax poetic about 2007 as the best Pinot Noir growing season in decades. Moderate, even temperatures and the perfect amount of precipitation allowed 90% of the Hallberg Vineyard to be dry farmed, encouraging the vines to compete for available water and nutrients. Such competition causes the vines to produce small clusters of tiny berries, yielding intense and concentrated flavors. Beautiful, warm days and cool nights from bud break in the spring through full maturation in the fall set the stage for consistent, even ripening of the grapes—harvested with their flavors still youthful and alive, and producing one of the finest vintages in decades.

WINEMAKER’S TASTING NOTES
The 2007 Emeritus Russian River Valley Pinot Noir reflects an exceptional vintage. This single-vineyard blend from the Hallberg Ranch is well balanced with rich berry flavors, crisp acidity, and firm tannins for aging. The cuvée is comprised primarily from four clones: the 115 and Pommard give the wine its freshness and the 828 and 777 provide structure and intensity. This wine displays classic Russian River Valley personality, and a once-in-a-generation expression of character with a velvety mouth feel and a long, long lingering finish.

— Don Blackburn