Zepaltas Wines

The Suacci Vineyard is a truly unique site located southwest of Sebastopol, CA on the way out to Bloomfield. It is a cold, windy site that presents unique challenges each and every year. We are always crossing our fingers in September that the grapes will ripen, and somehow by early October we are happily harvesting.
The Suacci Vineyard Pinot Noir is unmistakably identifiable in our lineup year in and year out. It has always shown exotic flavors of pomegranate, earth, mushroom, herb and sheep’s milk cheese. With the 2009, we go deeper and darker with those flavors. As the vines are aging they seem to be shedding away the lively fruit characters of their youth, and gaining more and more complexity. The 2009 vintage was near perfect in its finish so that helped the cause immensely. Flavors, acid, tannins & sugars all were in harmony when it was time to harvest.
The 2009, on the nose, has more “dried” than “fresh” herb notes than in past vintages; most likely due to the 50% stem inclusion in the fermentation. Dark raspberry and pomegranate flavors dominate with secondary notes of earth, dead leaves and morel mushrooms. This wine has the framework and the depth to be both drinkable now, and after 2-3 years of cellaring.