A brooding and intense wine. The aromas begin with notes of ground cacao, raspberry and Friar plum, followed by a mix of spices and a hint of lavender. Firm, mature tannins - evidence of Ten’s ageability - are followed by a long, velvety finish.
Our estate vineyard is located in the northern hemisphere’s southernmost – and sunniest – Region 1 microclimate, which has the coolest temperatures for grape growing. The Pacific Ocean fog (‘sea smoke’) funnels across our hillsides each afternoon, creating ideal growing conditions for Pinot Noir.
We farm our estate vineyard both organically and biodynamically, because nurturing the soil and vines – without toxic chemicals and in harmony with nature – is the right thing to do for the land, for our employees and for our customers.
Ten is named for the ten Pinot Noir clones found on our estate vineyard. Our most masculine wine, it is brooding and intense, with firm, mature tannins and a long, velvety finish. Ten is not for the faint-of-heart and has been known, on occasion, to convert even the most fanatic Cabernet lover.
Hand-harvested, clusters were sorted in the vineyard and then gently destemmed following an evening in our cold room. All ‘jack stems’ were removed on the sorting table. Musts were cold soaked in open-top fermenters for five days, and then inoculated with cultured yeasts to begin slow fermentation. Each tank was manually punched down two times per day, with a total maceration time of sixteen to twenty-eight days. Upon completion of primary fermentation and maceration, all free run wine was transferred to tank for settling, and then pressed at extremely low pressure (0.08 bars) to avoid extracting bitterness. After settling overnight both free-run and press wines were racked to barrels. Ten was bottled with no fining and no filtration.