Fall Release Widdoes Vineyard Ryan Pinot Noir
2010

Winemaker’s Notes

This is my favorite ‘Ryan’ bottling since the superb 2005 version and a wine that I expect to age wonderfully. As usual Widdoes vineyard produces fruit that veers toward the truffle and leather end of the flavor spectrum – less fruity than our younger vine vineyard sources. This soil-driven complexity is even more pronounced in a cool season such as 2010. The wine is very dark toned and penetrating with a thread of electric liveliness pulsating throughout. It’s a rich wine, but not too broad or dense and has many layers of complex aromas and flavors flitting in and out all the time. It’s wines such as this that have the greatest potential to age into something extraordinary. The potential is there, we just need to have the patience to save a bottle or two for ten years down the road. If you still have a bottle of our 2002 ‘Ryan’, you will see what I mean…wonderful complexity right now and this wine is its equal.

Deep rose color, quite dark & brilliant. Complex floral/herbal aromas: juniper, bay leaf, anise then wild berry sweetness, kirsch, sassafras and tobacco. Great power and dimension to the palate. Rich, but never soft – a lean dynamic power. Boysenberry, maple, cocoa then mint and game. Fine tannin-acid balancing act. Fresh orange zest on the finish. Drink between 2012 and 2020.

Andy Smith Viticulturist, Winemaker & Partner