HARVEST NOTES

All plants require water to grow, and grapevines are no exception. The 2021 growing season was our driest yet. The Maggy Hawk vineyard relies on rainfall in the winter and spring to fill our vineyard ponds to irrigate our vines during the summer months. These ponds ran dry a few weeks before harvest began. Fortunately, the grapes made it across the finish line without being affected by the drought. We typically harvest over 2-3 weeks. In 2021, everything was ready at once, and we harvested in just one and a half weeks. The clusters had a shorter ripening period and were harvested on the earlier side, which produced wines with intense hues, great acidity, and concentrated aromas and flavors.

WINEMAKING

The 2021 Afleet Pinot Noir is a unique selection of clones from blocks from across the vineyard. Each block is vinified separately, and upon arrival the grapes are cold soaked prior to fermentation. This wine contained 60% whole clusters during fermentation. The remaining fruit is then gently pressed off, with the free run juice
racked off separately from the harder pressing, and undergoes fermentation as well as malolactic fermentation in separate barrels. The wine is aged for 16 months in neutral French oak barrels. Finished unfined and unfiltered.

TASTING NOTES

Wonderful breadth, depth, and personality in spades. Afleet incorporates four distinct blocks from the vineyard and incorporates 60% whole cluster fermentation to craft a wine with a variety of aromatics. Mandarin, stargazer lily, guava and saffron aromas mingle and develop over time. Stem tannin circles the outer edges on the texture and leaves the mid-palate fresh and juicy.