2013 Susan Sent Me Pinot Noir
Russian River Valley, Sonoma, California
The 2013 growing season in Russian River Valley was
very kind for growers. An early season for bud break
and veraison lead to an even growing season with
moderate temperatures and mild early season rain.
Harvest was clean, abundant and long, giving
growers a chance to harvest at optimal ripeness. The
wines show perfect aromatic qualities and ripe,
seamless structures.
Our 2013 Pinot Noir was selected from three barrels from two high quality Russian River Valley vineyards. The wine is a blend of Pinot Noir clones 115 and 667 planted on soils of gravelly loam with volcanic ash and decomposing limestone. The three barrels chosen were 2010 Remond, 2013 Vallaurine and 2007 Darguad + Jeagle. Fermentation took place instainless steel tanks with a small percentage of whole cluster. This is the first Pinot Noir of ours to include a new barrel, the spicy qualities were too good to ignore. The wine is fragrant with warm plum, violet and cold sandalwood. Grainy tannins and curved acidity help to make the wine glide across the tongue. The name Susan Sent Me stems from a trip into Napa Valley. A group of us traveled to a winery in Spring Mountain that has a tasting room available via appointment only. We did not have any such thing. Upon arrival we were asked for our names and scheduled time. We casually answered that Susan, from a winery down the hill, said it was fine to just show up and that they would be happy to accommodate us. Wink! The tasting room associate was somewhat irritated, stating this was a little unusual for her to be so assuming. After some thought he kindly allowed us to taste. Apparently, there was indeed a Susan (we had no idea, picking a name and a winery at random). Haha…who knew? Susan, thank you. We tasted a good line up of wine that day, very fitting for a sunny afternoon in Napa. We’ve dedicated this label of Kitten Swish to the reckless abandonment of formality, championing the argument for breaking free of rules and regulation and enjoying pure impulsiveness…and soft white lies.
When in need of access, tell them Susan Sent Me
For allocation requests or a list of available retailers please contact us.