Freeman Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 2007

Winemaker's Notes:

The 2007 Freeman Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir is the sixth vintage of our “flagship” wine. Freeman started in 2002 with a Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir made up of two vineyards. This year’s wine includes four vineyards from the Sebastopol Hills and Petaluma Gap areas of the Sonoma Coast appellation. The Rayhill Vineyard on Falstaff Road is an 8 acre site planted to four Dijon clones of Pinot Noir. In 2007 we received 13 tons of densely colored and spicy Sonoma Coast fruit. Not only does Rayhill make up the largest percentage of this wine, but it also was selected as a major contributor to the ’07 Akiko’s Cuvée. Just down the road from Rayhill is Jim Pratt’s Sexton Road property. 2007 was our second year working with Jim who is widely regarded as one of Sonoma County’s best growers. We receive two clones of Pinot Noir at Pratt: 2A, which is a Swiss clone, also known as Wadenswil, and Pommard, a French clone. The 2007 crop at Sexton was quite a bit smaller than 2006, so the concentration of flavors was spectacular. High above the town of Occidental is Leonard and Geri Guidici’s vineyard. Expertly farmed by Charlie Chenoweth, this is Freeman’s most secluded and peaceful Pinot site. Freeman receives all 8 acres of the Pinot Noir from Guidici. 2007 was a typical light crop at Guidici at right around 1 ton per acre. This was winemaker’s dream, although we wish we had three times as much fruit from Guidici. A new site for Freeman in 2007 is the Morris Ranch, located in the Petaluma Gap, just east of Petaluma. Jay Morris owns this vineyard and provided Freeman with some of his 115 clone in 2007. This provided a lot of density and tannin to the 2007 Sonoma Coast. As is traditionally the case, our 2007 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir is the most structured of our four Pinot Noir releases. The nose reveals an inviting combination of deep berry aromas and spicy, toasty oak notes. On the palate, it is surprisingly supple and soft for a wine with as much aging potential as this possesses. This wine should mature beautifully through 2016. If you plan on drinking it in its youth, we recommend decanting it first.