Our Wine
New Releases
This fall we released 3 Pinot Noirs: our 2007 Estate Pinot Noir, our 2007 Tripple Seven Clone and our 2007 Pommard Clone. Only 44 cases of Triple Seven and 25 cases of the Pommard Clone were produced and are available to our Allocation Club members. The following are notes on our wine:
2007 Estate Pinot Noir
We have just released the 2007 vintage and are excited about it and its future. Previewed by the Brix Chicks (www.brixchicks.com) earlier this summer, they wrote that "this Pinot is the darker, more concentrated, voluptuous style of California Pinot Noir with aromas of cherry liqueur and cocoa. The palate tastes of dark red fruits and cinnamon spice. There is a lovely note of espresso on the finish.
2007 Estate Triple Seven Clone Pinot Noir Allocation Club Only - Sold Out
The Prince of Pinot, Rusty Gaffney, recently visited Heart O' The Mountain and reviewed our wines in his recent newsletter (www.princeofpinot.com). He wrote, "Aged 20 months in French Oak. Unfined, unfiltered. Deep color. Brooding nose showing ripe dark stone fruits, a hint of oak char and barnyard. Plenty of rich, plush and very ripe plum fruit fans out on the palate. The oak is a subtle accent, the texture is all velvet, and the finish lingers. A bold and aggressive wine that will appeal to lovers of hedonistic fruit. Very good."
2007 Estate Pommard Clone Pinot Noir Allocation Club Only - Sold Out
Also reviewed by The Prince of Pinot (www.princeofpinot.com) Rusty wrote, 100% new French oak. 100% de-stemmed, whole berry fermentation. Unfined and unfiltered. Only available to Wine Club members. Enticing and penetrating aromas of subtlety-spiced cherries which carry over to the flavor profile. Beautifully composed and harmonious with plenty of finesse to charm. One of the best Pinot Noirs tasted on this trip. The Pommard clone thrives on this site.
2006 Estate Pinot Noir
Our 2006 vintage exudes a bigger, bolder and more outspoken nature than our '05 did, while still retaining the elegance, balance and velvety mouth-feel that are the signature characteristics of the fruit from our estate vineyard.
2005 Estate Pinot Noir
We are now sold out of the 2005 vintage.
Heart O’ The Mountain 2005 estate Pinot Noir is made from a blend of 3 French clones and was aged to perfection for 18 months in the finest French and Hungarian oak barrels. Our Pinot is an elegant wine, exhibiting soft supple tannins with a back note of spice. Flavors of black cherry and raspberry come through this artfully oaked wine.
Pinot Noir Shootout Results!!
We are extremely proud to announce our 2005 vintage placed 2nd out of 267 Pinot Noirs from around the world at the 6th annual Pinot Noir Shootout hosted by Affairs of the Vine. It was also awarded 95 points by the expert tasting panel. For complete Pinot Noir Shootout results, visit: www.affairsofthevine.com.
If You Want to Be Sure to Get Some...
We are a small winery releasing very limited amounts of our hand-crafted Pinot Noir. As such, we will sell out of every vintage we release. To guarantee that you will be notified immediately upon release of future vintages, please take the time to join our Allocation Club. Allocation Club members will receive 3 bottles every quarter of Heart O' The Mountain Estate Pinot Noir. You will have access to special bottlings of club only wine and receive a 15% discount on all wine purchases. For more information and to join the club, please click on the Allocation Club link on this website.
We are a family owned winery, producing handcrafted ultra-premium Pinot Noir from our small, hillside, estate vineyard. We believe that by focusing on one variety in an area ideally suited for Pinot Noir we have an opportunity to make a truly exceptional, rare wine.
We believe exceptional wine is made in the vineyard, that a wine should reflect the vineyard that it comes from. By being actively involved in every detail of the vineyard, and by utilizing a winemaking process designed to bring out and enhance the inherent characteristics of the fruit, we are able to bring forth a wine that is a true expression of our unique vineyard site in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Our wine growing process is very hands on and labor intensive. This allows us to have an intimate knowledge of each clone in every barrel. The individual clones are hand picked separately, based on each clone's unique ripening parameters. The different clones are kept separate throughout the winemaking and aging process.
Harvest begins at first light while it is cool. The grapes are immediately hand sorted, and the whole berries are destemmed into small bins and moved into the temperature controlled winery where they are cold soaked for 3-6 days. This extended skin contact enhances the extraction of rich colors and flavors. The fruit is then fermented in small open top bins where the cap is gently punched down by hand several times a day.
After fermentation, the wine is pressed into the finest French oak barrels, where it is aged in a temperature controlled room. Prior to bottling, the separate Pinot Noir clones are carefully blended together. After bottling the wine is stored for a period of 6 months, thus allowing it to develop prior to releasing.
We believe in minimal intervention in the process. The entire process is done by gravity flow without pumping, fining or filtering the must or wine.
