Pey-Marin 2005 Riesling "The Shell Mound"

Vintage Notes:
The growing season in 2005 was quite different from many in recent memory. Sure, the winter was cold and wet and replenished our vines. But a warm “false spring” in March got the vines off to a very early start. Normally this would be fine, except that we had very late rains in both May & June when many of our vines were flowering which reduced the pollination of our grape flowers. As a result yields were driven lower than our already paltry levels. These rains also increased botrytis in the vineyard and forced us to drop additional (valuable) fruit on the ground in August – a very expensive but worthwhile reality in fine Riesling production. The end of the growing season, however, turned beautiful with its very long, cool and dry fall which extended ripening and helped develop very delicate flavors in our tiny Riesling grapes. In the end, Mother Nature gave us 1.9 tons per acre, carefully hand harvested in the wee hours of October 18 at 21.5 Brix, 3.22 pH. Marin County’s first Riesling!

Vineyard Notes:
Our “The Shell Mound” Riesling is estate grown in our fifteen year-old vineyard located less than eight miles from the frigid Pacific Ocean in western Marin County. As one might expect, our vineyard is heavily influenced by the Pacific Oceans considerable climatic prowess. The vineyard terrain is characterized by gently rolling coastal hills and its soil profile is largely decomposed marine sedimentary material (sandstone) which drains well and is moderately fertile. We farm our estate vineyard incorporating sustainable viticultural practices (compost, hand tilling, ladybugs and cover crops). Our Riesling vines genetic background comes from a rare selection which originated in Neustadt, Germany and which is little found on the west coast. Our frigid vineyard site is as cold as or colder than Santa Maria or the Sonoma Coast and gives us naturally high acidity, a hallmark of the great Riesling’s of northern Europe. .

Winemaking Notes:
Riesling is a grape which ruthlessly expresses a purity of place. There is no oak, no blending and no malolactic to alter the pure expression of its terroir. So our modus operandi called for very gentle handling from our estate vineyard to bottle. Our small, compact Riesling bunches were hand-harvested and hand-sorted in the field and then transported to our cellar. Gentle whole cluster press (a la champagne method) with multiple press “cuts” to separate the lots is a luxury rarely given to Riesling, but we felt indulgent with our inaugural vintage. After settling, the juice was inoculated using Rudisheimer yeast and cold fermented (59° F) for 19 days capturing its very delicate aromatics, steely, crisp texture & sense of place. After a few months on the yeast lees we bottled 269 cases in April 2006 in a stelvin-sealed bottle which perfectly preserves its freshness (another first for Marin County). We call this special wine “The Shell Mound” after the many mounds of oyster shells left by our early American predecessors across western Marin County. BTW - it is perfect with oysters & shellfish!

Technical Notes:

Appellation:	Marin County
Blend:	100% Riesling (Neustadt 90)
Harvest:	October 18, 2005
Details at Harvest:	21.5 Brix, 3.22 pH
Fermentation:	Cold fermented (59° F) for 19 days
Alcohol:	11.8%