Saintsbury Pinot Noir Carneros 2008

The modern viticultural history of Carneros begins on Stanly Ranch in the 1950s when Louis Martini who then owned part of the historic property began a clonal trial of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with UC Davis and another historic California wine family, the Wentes. The well-known Martini and Wente clones of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay emerged from these trials and were propagated and sold by the Wente grapevine nursery.

The historic ranch of Judge Stanly greets visitors to the Napa Valley as they drive up Highway 29 towards the city of Napa and anchors the southeastern corner of the Carneros. The fourth incarnation of grape vines on this property began in 2001 with the development of 350 acres of vines using modern clones, spacing and vertical trellising on the property's clay-loam soils and gently rolling hills.

The 2008 Saintsbury Stanly Ranch Pinot Noir displays a smoky plum nose with notes of dried herbs and a plump mid-palate of morello cherries (or dark cherries) and blackberries. It possesses a long, rich finish with good acid structure and fine tannins. While built for the long term its richness makes it an "I’ll have another bottle" kind of Pinot!