2004 Double L Vineyard Pinot Noir

Double L Vineyard is the result of winegrower Dan Morgan Lee’s passion for Burgundian varietals and his nearly three decades of Monterey winemaking experience. It is named “Double Luck” for Dan and Donna Lee’s twin daughters.

The Vineyard
Morgan Winery’s Double L Vineyard is located in the northern end of the Santa Lucia Highlands sub-appellation of Monterey, which runs down the northeast facing slopes of the coastal Santa Lucia range, overlooking the Salinas Valley, beginning about 12 miles south of the Monterey Bay. 

The vineyard is densely planted with 6 x 5 spacing, (1452 plants per acre) with the rows aligned on a North-South axis for optimum sun exposure and interception of cool breezes from the Monterey Bay. The strong Salinas Valley winds concentrate flavors by thickening grape skins and slowing down photosynthesis. Grapes typically get 4-5 weeks longer hang time than most California regions.

Organically grown fruit produces the clearest expression of terroir. Monterey County Certified Organic, accredited by the USDA, certifies Double L Vineyard as an organic vineyard, the only such one in the appellation.

Double L has 26 acres of Pinot Noir in production with 12 different clonal selections on 6 different rootstocks, for complexity in the finished wines.

Soils are sandy loam, deep and well drained, with decomposed granite and traces of limestone. Rainfall averages 15 inches per year. This area’s average summertime high of 75 degrees is the coolest in America during the growing season. Pinot yields are held to 5 lbs. per vine for maximum flavor concentration.

The Vintage
The 2004 vintage produced rich, large-scale wines. A cool, damp spring created a modest crop set. The defining weather event was a statewide heat spike over the Labor Day weekend that drove up sugar content. However, temperatures in the Monterey area soon cooled off dramatically, allowing the grapes to return to more normal sugar and acid levels. Harvest began in the first week of September and finished in three weeks. This vintage is composed of Dijon clones 777, 667, and 115, and Pommard clones 4 and 5.

Vinification and Ageing
The grapes are completely de-stemmed. Fermentation, most of which is whole-berry, is in open top fermenters with manual punch down for optimum extraction and structure without harshness.

After fermentation, the wine is transferred to a combination of medium and medium plus toast French oak barrels, of which 50% are new and the remainder are 2nd and 3rd year barrels for malo-lactic fermentation and 11 months of ageing.

Tasting Notes
The 2004 Double L Pinot Noir shows a deep garnet color. With notes of ripe black cherry, cinnamon, cola and nutmeg spices over a terroir-driven mineral aspect, the wine expresses the elegance of the grape, the richness of a warm vintage, and its Santa Lucia Highlands origins.
 

Reviews

90, Washington Post: Michael Franz, Winter 2006