2008 Pinot Noir Estate Vineyard Old Vine

"Two thousand eight is all about balance and so is 2007, at least for us, and that's the sort of wine we want to make," Patty Green told me. "Almost all of our fruit in 2008 came in no higher than 23o Brix, which means that the wines have freshness and didn't go over the top with superripeness and dark fruit flavors." Green told me that one of the goals here "is to trap and retain the esters," and that one way to accomplish this is "never to use sulfur, which dulls aromas and dries out the fruit." Two thousand eight provided "a pretty special balance of pH, acidity and sugar," she went on, "and there's density but not excess weight to the wines." Green and her partner, Jim Anderson, feel that after a quarter century (as of 2010) they've become very consistent in their methodology. "So hopefully, we can trump vintage variation," said Green. Green and Anderson are proponents of the Pommard and Wadensvil clones and Green noted that she's especially leery of (Dijon) clone 115, which she believes makes brawnier wines that lack finesse.