ZD recommends using an ah-so wine opener on library wines. Be sure to add one to your cart if you don't already own one!

The 2010 harvest reminded everyone that Mother Nature is always in charge. A cool, wet spring set flowering and fruit set back by at least two weeks, followed by a cooler than normal June/July, and then a two day heat spike in August that wiped out previous heat records and about 20% of our Pinot Noir crop. Needless to say, there were many sleepless nights for everyone.

But, as always, patience was rewarded in the end, and a somewhat smaller Pinot Noir crop ripened perfectly through September. When grape grower Jim Haire arrived on October 5 with the first pick of our organically farmed Clone 667 Carneros Pinot Noir, we were reminded once again why the Carneros produces some of the best Pinot Noir in the world.

With a gorgeous dark ruby color, and intense aromas of briary black cherry and raspberry mingled with hints of cedar and rhubarb, this 2010 Carneros Pinot Noir is drinking beautifully right now.