http://www.eminenceroad.com

HOME | WINE | PURCHASE | NEWS | ABOUT | SCHNOOK

2014 PINOT NOIR
Vol. 4

Dry Red Table Wine
Cases produced: 50
Alcohol: 12.4%
Total sulfite addition: 30 ppm
Grape: Pinot noir
Soil: Deeper loam over shale and limestone
Harvest: September, 30 and October 1, 2014
Bottled: October 26, 2015

ELEVAGE: Hand picked grapes were foot crushed, whole-cluster, stems and all, and put into one-ton bins to ferment. The grapes received once daily punchdowns for 10 days before being bucketed into the half-ton bladder press. Settled juice was pumped into old French oak barrels to finish fermentation which continued into June of 2015. In October the wine was racked off its lees and gravity bottled by hand without fining or filtration.

TASTING NOTE: 2014 Eminence Road - Pinot Noir - Vol. 4 - is a blend of grapes from 2 vineyards: 75% Seneca Lake Vineyard and 25% Elizabeth's Vineyard assembled from 2 barrels that seemed to go together nicely. Tilled earth, ripe cherry and sandalwood on the nose with good balance and extra weight from the Elizabeth's fruit. Very fine grained tannin on a bright cherry finish. Put this wine with a skirt steak and sauteed green beans or a savory mushroom tart.

SENECA LAKE VINEYARD: In and around Lodi, New York on the eastern shore of Seneca Lake, grower Mark Wagner maintains nearly seventy acres of vines contained in six separate plots with soils mostly composed of deeper loam over shale and limestone. Green mulching and cover crops are used to manage weeds and vines are meticulously cared for with an eye towards sustainability. These vineyards produce classic Finger Lakes wines with wonderful balance and clarity.

ELIZABETH'S VINEYARD: Located in Hector, New York on the eastern shore of Seneca Lake, this twenty-seven acre vineyard is composed of shallow loam soil over shale on a slope leading to some of the lake's deepest waters. Among the pinot noir, cabernet franc and riesling, grower John Leidenfrost also maintains blocks of spur pruned cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay over a quarter century old. This vineyard's privileged exposure and thin, shale laden soil produces wine of great depth and backbone.