Three Sticks Gap’s Crown Pinot Noir 2020

The influence of fog and wind on the iconic Gap’s Crown vineyard creates a site that produces world class pinot noir. The nose hints at its cooler origin, evoking fresh blackberry galette with undertones of hibiscus and liquorice. the texture is inviting and bright, yet structured creating a wine that is built to age well. Our mix of heritage and dijon clones lend an elaborate blend to the wine. As evidenced by the beautiful balance and strength of this opulent pinot, the Gap's Crown vineyard shows how well Pinot Noir performs in some of these cooler areas of our county.

The hilly Gap’s Crown site is found just east of the small town of Cotati, nestled on a hillside at the head of the Petaluma Gap wind funnel, where cool coastal wind and fog is drawn into the Sonoma Valley. With elevations ranging from 320’ to 820’, the site escapes some of the gusty aspects of the Gap’s geography. Many of the vines sit above the fog level, which benefits ripening and produces incredibly intense fruit.

Clusters were picked at night to ensure the fruit was cold in order to prevent spontaneous fermentation. The clusters were first sorted to remove under ripe clusters, raisins, fungus and any material other than grapes. 76% of the clusters were destemmed and 24% of the fruit was added to the fermenter as whole cluster. The destemmed berries were then sorted to remove any pink and water berries. Dry ice and 30ppm of sulfur dioxide was added to the must to keep the fermenter cold and prevent spoilage organisms from growing. After a 5 day cold soak, the cap was punched down 4 times a day to promote extraction of color, tannin and flavor while also managing the temperature of the fermentation.

Five different coopers are used to select the barrel prescription for the wine. 100% of the barrels are french burgundy, 60% of which is new. The wine was aged on light lees for 11 months before being racked and bottled.