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Wine Details
Price:
$55.00 per bottle
Description:
2003 Famous Gate Pinot Noir marks the twelfth vintage of a highly distinguished wine reflecting the consistent excellence of Domaine Carneros’ intensive and dedicated pinot noir program.
Following fermentation in small, open topped fermenters, the wine was transferred to barrels and aged for a total of ten months. An exhaustive French barrel program comprises seven cooperages that specifically air-dry wood staves for us for three years, yielding softer tannins and less astringency. Winemakers selected special lots from six clonally distinctive wines and composed the blend over a period of months to create a wine of extraordinary finesse and depth. After bottling, Famous Gate matures an additional two years in the bottle before release.
The wine has rich, dark flavors of black cherry, blackberry, chocolate and spice that mingle with hints of smoke and toast. The soft, velvety texture and elegant structure will allow the wine to gracefully mature over time. It can be enjoyed now, or can be aged in the bottle for 3-5 years. It is available domestically only at the winery and for our Chateau Society members.
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Varietal Definition
Pinot Noir:
The name is derived from the French words for ‘pine’ and ‘black’ alluding to the varietals' tightly clustered dark purple pine cone shaped bunches of fruit. Pinot Noir grapes are grown around the world, mostly in the cooler regions, but the grape is chiefly associated with the Burgundy region of France. It is widely considered to produce some of the finest wines in the world, but is a difficult variety to cultivate and transform into wine. By volume most Pinot Noir in America is grown in California with Oregon coming in second. Other regions are Washington State and New York.During 2004 and the beginning of 2005, Pinot Noir became considerably more popular amongst consumers in the United States, possibly because of the movie Sideways. Being lighter in style, it has benefited from a trend toward more restrained, less alcoholic wines. It is the delicate, subtle, complex and elegant nature of this wine that encourages growers and winemakers to cultivate this difficult grape. Robert Parker has described Pinot Noir: "When it's great, Pinot Noir produces the most complex, hedonistic, and remarkably thrilling red wine in the world."
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