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Our first grapes of the 2021 harvest are in! | Low inventory alert on our 2018s

August 27, 2021 15:21

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(Most of ) our 2021 Harvest Team 


Three, two, one...harvest is here!

Our first fruit for the 2021 harvest season arrived this morning, which we celebrated with a toast with the harvest team. First in was a lot of Pinot from our Ruxton Vineyard, which is located on Stoetz Ridge on the western edge of Russian River Valley. This is a component of our Dutton Ranch Pinot Noir, so it was only fitting that we toast the lot with a bottle of that wine—even the bin of grapes got a little taste!


While we've had a few hot days, it's been fairly cool overall so far for August, making the ripening season stretch out just the way we like it—as Dan says, it's like toasting a marshmallow perfectly, low and slow. Dutton Ranch has brought in about 400 tons so far, or about 10% of their expected tonnage. Most of this has been for sparkling wine, along with a little Pinot Noir and Viognier. The crop so far seems to be coming in a bit light due to the clusters not being as heavy as some years, likely due to the drought. Grapevines are an arid crop, so don't need a lot of water (and the dry-farmed chardonnay and old zin vines never get irrigated), and this reduced plumping in the berries should mean more concentrated flavors in the final wine.

 

Fun times at our Wine Club Summer Luau 

Hula, leis, and smiles abounded at our first event in over a year! Thank you to all our wonderful club members and guests who joined us for this gathering at Dutton Ranch on Saturday. A special big shout-out to Barbara for her amazing authentic hula dance, to Sweet T's for their succulently tasty menu of Hawaiian favorites, and to Faith Aiko and the band (which includes Barbara's talented husband, Tadd) for their toe tapping tunes that provided an excellent backdrop to the afternoon. 

Steve's vineyard walks were a highlight of the day, and since this was the first time we held the event in August (it's previously been a Spring party), guests actually got to see and taste grapes on the vine that were almost ready for picking. 

We hope we see you at our next event!


Marin County in the News

Devil's Gulch Vineyard has had a little flurry of activity this past week, written up in both Vinography and PinotFile. 

The Prince of Pinot (who we think has some of best writing about Pinot around, as he comes to it from a real passion for the product) just highlighted his selection of elite California vineyard sites for Pinot, and had this to say about our 2018 Devil's Gulch Vineyard Pinot Noir: 

"The seductive perfume of Pinot Noir is difficult to capture but this wine has it. Aromas of black cherry, black raspberry, blueberry, sweet mulch and tilled earth. Very polished and refined on the palate, with a discreet concentration of dark cherry and raspberry fruit with both a floral and earthy accent. Oak lends a complimentary hand. Exquisite balance with a prolonged finish. When tasted the following day from a previously opened bottle, the wine soared to new heights, the spiciness was unreal, and the wine became better and better over time in the glass. Angel sent. 96 points."

2018 Devil's Gulch Vineyard Pinot Noir


He also is a big fan of our other Devil's Gulch wine, saying "Dan Goldfield crafts one of California's greatest Chardonnays from this vineyard." You can read his whole article on "Elite California Pinot Noir Vineyards" here.

Meanwhile, Alder Yarrow's Vinography had this to say about our 2018 Devil's Gulch Vineyard Chardonnay:

"Pale yellow-gold in the glass, this wine smells of lemon curd and a hint of pastry cream. In the mouth, creamy, silky flavors of lemon curd and vanilla crème brulee have a nice bright snap to them thanks to excellent acidity...9 points (out of 10)."

2018 Devil's Gulch Vineyard Chardonnay

 

Low Inventory Alert!

Are you loving the 2018 wines? Then be sure to pick up some more to get you through before these sell out. 

2018 Rued Vineyard Chardonnay
94 points, Wine Enthusiast
Only 8 cases left!




2018 Angel Camp Vineyard Pinot Noir
96 points, Wine Enthusiast
93 points, Wine Spectator
Only 40 cases left!



Looking for other 2018s to stock up?
Shop all remaining wines here:

 


It's the most exciting time of the year! Wish us the best as we shepherd the grapes on to their next stage of life.

Your friends at DG
 

 
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