Sourced from a vineyard that reaches towering elevations of more than 1,000 feet above sea level and sits above the fog, these grapes are given the warmth to fully ripen and develop ideal flavors including cocoa, spice and red berries.
Gard Hellenthal is one of the pioneers in the Fort Ross Seaview appellation, and his namesake vineyard is one of the region’s treasures. Just miles from the Pacific Ocean, it reaches towering elevations of more than 1,000 feet, where the grapes ripen above the fog line, yielding a wine with dusty tannins, pure red berry flavors and enticing notes of cocoa and spice that linger on the long, resonant finish.
Tasting Notes
This wine has a ruby red color and delicate red fruit
aromas. Dusty tannins and notes of cocoa spice fill the palate, adding depth and
sophistication to the pure red berry flavors, with a supple texture drawing the
wine to a pure, resonant finish.
Accolades
94 points from Wine Enthusiast | “From a high-elevation coastal site, this wine is dazzling in juicy red fruit, gentle spice and a great length and breadth of textured intensity. Toasted oak adds more spice and a note of dark chocolate, which combines well with the rich, rewarding core of berry.”
Wine Origin
Hellenthal Vineyard is owned by Gard Hellenthal, one of the
pioneers in the Fort Ross Seaview appellation. Located just miles from the
Pacific Ocean, the vineyard reaches towering elevations of more than 1,000 feet
above sea level. At this high elevation, the vines sit above the fog layer giving
them the warmth to fully ripen and develop ideal flavors. At the same time, the
cool maritime breezes balance the heat from the sun to keep the climate perfect
for the finicky Pinot Noir grapes.
Production Notes
The 2017 vintage followed a cool, very wet winter.
The soils were moist and rich, which required extra meticulous care with cover
crop management and canopy management. Because this vineyard is dry farmed
it benefitted from having a wet year. Our part of Hellenthal Vineyard, the
prized House Block, is planted to a field blend of Calera selection and Pommard
Clone grapes. The fruit from this vineyard was harvested by hand on September
19th, 2017.
Winemaker Notes
The fruit was gently destemmed into small open-
top fermenters, using state-of-the-art equipment and procedures to avoid any
pumping of must. Inoculation with select yeast strains followed a three-day cold
soak, and the caps were managed with a combination of pump-overs and punch-
downs. This wine was barrel aged for 10 months in French oak barrels, 31% of
which were new, 21% one-year-old. The wine was bottled on August 15th,
2018.
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