2020 Highland Divide Pinot Noir
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Tasting notes
Estate fruit. Not in fog and not clay. On the dividing zone between the valley and the mountains. Night-picked and sorted in the vineyard. Proportion of whole bunch varies between 0 and 40% each year; 20% in 2020. They fill the fermentation vat with the destemmed grapes and then the whole bunches on top. It took 6–7 days for the fermentation to begin. The grapes go into the vat at about 13 °C. When the cap forms there are then two short pumpovers a day. Punchdown two-thirds of the way through fermentation, five in total. 18–20 days on the skins . (The pressings are sold off to a négociant.) Vats are drained overnight. Winemaker Andy Smith: ‘ I don’t like to use lots of lees in Pinot Noir so the wines go to barrel pretty clean.’ They then spend 11 months in barrel and three months in tank. Their single-vineyard Pinots spend a full 15 months in barrel. Lively and fresh with a little bit of green, almost as though the whole-bunch proportion was higher than 20%. (JR)
Critic scores
Average Score
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Erin Brooks, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
The 2020 Pinot Noir Highland Divide is perfumed with sweet rose petals, fresh raspberry, and cola, all seamlessly integrated. The palate is supple with fine tannins and a long finish. This red displays a very elegant style for the region, with brightness of fruit on the finish. Drink 2023-2036.
Medium ruby-purple, the 2020 Pinot Noir Highland Divide has intense aromas of blackberries, cranberries and blood orange with accents of tobacco leaves, woodsmoke, underbrush and nori. The medium-bodied palate is powerful and concentrated with juicy acidity and a long finish with a flourish of spicy accents.
The 2020 Pinot Noir Highland Divide offers lovely density and mid-palate sweetness, naturally in the lighter style of the year. Sweet red berry/purplish fruit, blood orange, mint and lavender lend nuance to this soft yet fleshy Sonoma Coast Pinot.