Spring Release Highland Divide Pinot Noir
2020

Winemaker’s Notes

Our 2020 Pinot Noir wines remind me most closely of one of my favorite recent vintages: 2015. These two seasons produced small crops that ripened early at moderate sugar levels but with full vine and grape maturity—all the ingredients for depth, complexity, and longevity in bottle. This latest Highland Divide bottling is a ripe and highly-perfumed classical coastal Russian River Pinot Noir—quintessential DuMOL.

The wine was grown in specially selected hillside parcels of our three contiguous high-density Estate vineyards and represents the best-of-the-best for the vintage. These non-irrigated vines produce small, thick-skinned berries brimming with intensity and character and require only moderate human intervention—the vines themselves are in charge and know what to do. Quality, complexity, and balance flow naturally from such sources, and the wines can have an effortless feel that’s difficult to replicate in lesser vineyards. This wine approaches our single-vineyard quality and can be opened soon after release or aged for a decade-plus for heightened complexity.

Bright lifted aromas of wild raspberry, cranberry, and tangy pomegranate evolve to woodsy autumnal notes that are so typical of Pinot in our coastal district. This sense of crunchy, dynamic fruit darkens and deepens to black cherry sweetness and broad creamy texture. The wine sits beautifully on the middle of the palate—layered and expansive with elegant lilting structure and fresh energetic acidity. The finish is long and supple with lovely rising fruit purity. Serve at 60°F and drink between 2022 and 2034.

Andy Smith