Beskrivelse
ABOUT OUR FAMOUS GATE
Through this wine, one can trace the history of Pinot Noir at Domaine Carneros.
In 1992, we made our first two barrels and called it The Famous Gate. For the past
twenty-five years, we have carefully cultivated three small blocks of the Swan
selection. Each block is located at a different vineyard; two are in Napa, and one on
the western, Sonoma side of Carneros. All blocks were planted between 1998 and
1999 from the same source material. This notoriously finicky and shy bearing clone
forms the basis of Famous Gate, the highest expression of our Estate grown
Carneros terroir.
In this iteration, there are three supporting characters. We have the Swan (73%),
complimented by Dijon 115 (17%), and and Hanzell (10%). The fermentation
process begins with a gentle de-stemming, followed by a cold soak for five days to
extract color and aromatics. We use small open topped vats, and the “cap”, formed
from escaping CO2, is punched down three times daily. Our exhaustive barrel stave
selection and aging program is custom tailored by fine Burgundian coopers
including Rousseau, Francois-Frères, Cadus, and Sirugue which lends supple
tannins and warm savory spice. The wine was aged in barrel for 16 months, and the
final blend was racked once before bottling without fining or filtration.
TASTING NOTES
The 2018 Famous Gate Pinot Noir opens with enticing aromas of ripe plum, red
raspberry, with hints of tobacco and forest floor. On the palate, there is sweet Bing
cherry, black tea, sassafras, and a wisp of smoke. While poised and delicious to
drink now, this wine is still quite young. Additional cellaring in the proper
conditions should yield spectacular results. Enjoy our finest expression of authentic
estate grown Carneros terroir. Available only at the winery. 2,330 cases produced.
FOOD PAIRINGS
Our winemakers recommend pairing this exquisite wine with equally interesting
dishes such as Moroccan lamb tagine with orange and ras el hanout or mushroom
risotto.
BLEND
100% Estate Grown Carneros (73% Swan, 10% Hanzell, 17% Dijon 115); 100%
French Oak (48% new)
