2021 could have possessed any combination of a wide range of challenges not smoke related and all our winemaking friends would have dropped to their knees and thanked the stars. To have lost something so precious the year before, one of a finite number of vintages in a life, was devastating. To have it followed by what I’ll term to be a neo-classically perfect vintage felt like a balancing of universal fates. Our valley’s classic cool nights anchored the vines as they worked. There was heat, concentrated, record breaking heat, yes, but this is the new world and we’ve spent the last decade and more listening and learning. We farm through a more sensitive lens, we make wiser, more forward thinking decisions in the winery. We work at elevation near the cool air of forests, on east facing slopes just for summers like this one. When the wines became clear in the cellar we saw a shimmering intensity, catching the light from every angle. Luxurious and fine, destined for long life, but brimming with an infectious joy on day one. An ode to sunshine yes, but to forests who drink the rain deeply as well, if this is the new way, lead on.
The 2019 Nysa Vineyard Pinot Noir come from these 31-year-old, own rooted vines planted in deep Jory soil at 650 feet elevation at a due eastern aspect. The farming is organic and sparing as the vines have achieved a lovely balance emphasizing the distinctive character of the site.
Our 2021 Nysa Vineyard Pinot come from 31-year-old, own rooted vines planted in deep Jory soil at 650 feet elevation at a due eastern aspect. The farming is organic and sparing as the vines have achieved a lovely balance emphasizing the distinctive character of the site.