2018 Halcón Vineyards ‘Oppenlander Vineyard’ Pinot Noir Mendocino County

VIN92 The 2018 Pinot Noir Oppenlander Vineyard is gracious and nicely lifted. Lavender, spice, dark blue/purplish fruit and mint are all nicely lifted in a mid-weight Pinot that offers an intriguing mix of forward fruit and Mendocino energy. Medium in body, with lovely energy, the 2018 Pinot is a winner.
Estate Notes: The Oppenlander vineyard experienced a cool, consistent vintage with no extreme heat. This led to a greatly extended hang-time, with harvest occurring on October 19th. Crop level was a very typical, and modest, 1.5 tons per acre. Flavor and color development was excellent and was allied with the usual strong acids. The fruit was harvested at just 22.8 brix. This vintage we were fortunate to substitute the previous Pommard with Martini selection, which was co-fermented with two thirds clone 115.
There were a couple of changes in our winemaking regime – whole-cluster utilization was increased from 40% to 75% and we aged the wine in only used French oak. The finished wine has the same red fruited profile as the 2017 vintage but with a richer, more textured mouthfeel. It is full of the classic Oppenlander earthy, forest floor notes with an interesting smoked meat element. Bottled unfined, unfiltered. 150 cases. 12.8% alc.