2008 Pinot Noir Rita's Earth
	Quantity in Basket: none Code: PNRE08 Price:$25.00 Shipping Weight: 3.50 pounds
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2008 PINOT NOIR “Rita’s Earth” Sta. Rita Hills Winemaker’s Notes: For those of you not yet in the know, this Pinot’s moniker, Rita’s Earth, is our nick name for our appellation, the Sta. Rita Hills. I think it’s especially fitting with this wine since Sta. Rita Hills has become synonymous with the notion of good Pinot Noir, and this is yet another good one. And there is good news! We actually made a few thousand cases! This wine is great. Once again, it’s a lighter, easy to drink version of some of the trophy Pinots we have made from places like Ocean’s Ghost. But it still has the kind of character that has prompted many growers over the last few years in the Sta. Rita Hills to plant more grapes. I love this stuff beginning with its hue. It’s not too light, which can be a trait with Pinot Noir. While light color is not supposed to be the end of the world, I do like to see in the glass a little bit of light being reflected in that spectrum known as red. It’s not too dark either, which is fine with me. While I do at times pause with some respect for really dark Pinots, they do tend to look like, well, Syrah. To be politically correct I try not to discriminate, but the classic stuff in my mind is still transparent and red, ruby red. With Pinot, purple makes me think of stylistic steroids. It’s either that, or the wine is inherently dark from an idiosyncratic terroir, like our Ocean’s Ghost. The mouth on this one is full of cherries and spice, which has become a very welcome standard. Cheers, Bryan Technical Notes: VINEYARDS IN THE BLEND: Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir FINISHED WINE: Residual Sugar: Dry Titratable Acidity: 6.9 g/L pH: 3.77 Alcohol:13.5% ELEVAGE: 7 months with 20% New French Oak BOTTLING DATE: May, 2009 RELEASE DATE: June, 2009 TOTAL PRODUCTION: 3685 cases - 12/750 ml Click Here for an Adobe Reader PDF version of Bryan Babcock's vintage note on 2008 Pinot Noir Rita's Earth.