2004 Arcus Estate Pinot Noir
ORIGIN: Arcus, meaning ‘bow’ in Latin, describes our estate vineyard that wraps around both sides of a small valley in the heart of the Dundee Hills. Capturing the distinctive terroir of this single vineyard, the 2004 Arcus Estate rewards Pinot Noir devotees with an expansive nose, compelling mid-palate, elegant finish, and a superior expression of true Pinot Noir.
VINEYARD: The vines at Arcus Estate are planted on steep slopes that complicate farming, but consistently produce intensely flavored, rich fruit. This wine was made from 1973 and 1990 plantings of self-rooted Pommard clones blended with Dijon clones 777 and 114 grown on south, southwest and west facing slopes. The grapes at Arcus Estate were hand harvested from mid to late September 2004 based on each block’s optimal physiological ripeness.
WINEMAKING: The fermentation for the 2004 Arcus Estate was conducted in both stainless steel and wooden open top fermentors utilizing an average of 12% whole clusters. The fruit was hand sorted and soaked cold for eight days, after which native yeast fermentation was allowed to proceed under temperature controlled conditions. During primary fermentation, tanks were manually punched down up to three times per day. After limited post fermentation maceration, the wine was send via gravity to 75% new French oak wine barrels where it aged in our caves for 11 months prior to bottling.
TASTING NOTES: This wine opens with vibrant aromas of blue fruits, violets, black cherries and bacon fat. The palate soars with focused flavors of cherry, currant and cassis, and the natural acidity along with integrated tannin serve to support this wine’s abundant personality. Expressive, stylish and complex, the 2004 Arcus Estate will benefit from three to five years of proper cellaring.
This vintage produced 1,768 six-bottle cases, 120 magnums, and 40 3.0 L formats.