Harvest Moon Pinot Noir Russian River Valley 2004  750ml Not currently available   Your Shopping Cart: Join one of the Harvest Moon Wine Clubs and save up to 30% on wines!

Vintage & Varietal

2004 100% Russian River Pinot Noir
112 Cases produced
Brix at Harvest: 23.6
Alcohol: 13.5%
Residual Sugar: less than .06%; Ph: 3.37

Grower & Winemaker's Notes

This fruit came from two small young vineyards off Piner and Willowside Roads in the Russian River Valley. With heavy early morning fog still lingering, these were likely two of the first vineyards harvested in 2004. At the crush pad, 2/3 of the fruit was destemmed and the other 1/3 of the lot was placed in the 3/4 ton open-top fermentor whole-cluster, allowing for more tannin structure and spice. Upon fermenting dry, the lot was lightly pressed-off to tank, racked clean the next morning and then placed in new and old French Latour oak where they sat undisturbed for a several months. From that point on, the wine was moved via gravity which helps prevent unnecessary oxygen exposure. We bottled the wine with light filtration in March 2006.

Mastering Pinot Noir is the most difficult feat for a winemaker. It takes excellent precision in both the vineyard and in the Winery to produce a beautiful Pinot. This elegant approach to Pinot Noir has convinced us this is our path.   We can't wait to apply what we've learned in 2004 to future vintages!

Tasting Notes

Although its straight-forward, clean demeanor initially greets one in the glass, the earthy notes inside begin to reveal themselves more than in years prior.  There's a pretty perfumy rose petal aroma that will only layer and complex with proper time in the bottle.  Don't let the pale color and light body fool you, this wine has no shortage of aromas or flarvor.  

Updated Tasting Notes: April 22nd, 2009 6:09-8:15 pm by Randy
“Overall, the 2004 Vintage at Harvest Moon went into the bottle tart, light bodied and acutely expressive with intense redberry and spice. Our ’04 Pinot Noir was no exception. Now with a full three years of bottle aging, this wine is performing unbelievably well. As expected, there’s a slight browning around the rim of the big bowled burgundy glass. I find there’s an enormous amount of silliness in the wine world, however there is legitimacy in drinking from high quality stemware. The glass you drink from makes a difference! I’m digressing. At first pour, a spicy cedar whiff leads to the red rose petal aromas initially found in this wine, except there’s a wonderful forest floor element to the aromatic rose. The once lean and edgy body is now medium in feel with a real integration between the body and finish. Flavors of bright, still wound cherry drenches my palate making me hedonistically happy. This wine is still on the incline and will probably find seamlessness in another 3-5 years.”