2017 Elk Prairie Vineyard Pinot Noir - Terragena Vineyards

Candied cranberry, white mushroom, freshly picked strawberry. Rainier cherry, plucked rose petal, blood orange zest. Dried leaves and fir tree, crushed cardamom and rosemary. Tart raspberry, rhubarb, and pomegranate form delicate yet expansive bouquet bursting with clean forest tones and lifted red florals. A cool ocean breeze blows in bringing with it airy salinity and a distinct sense of freshness that exposes spearmint and a lightly herbal edge. Clove, nutmeg, and cedar provide a hint of spice that balances beautifully with the crunchy and lively fruit profile. Classically styled yet quite expressive and ethereal, revealing a distinct sense of purity and transparency along with vivacious energy. Medium minus in body with mild tannin and booming acidity. This 2017 Elk Prairie Vineyard Pinot Noir by Terragena Vineyards is a spectacularly authentic and terroir-driven red from one of Humboldt County's best known vineyards.

The Elk Prairie Vineyard is an influential and pioneering site in one of California's last great wine frontiers. Planted in 1992 to 10 acres of Pinot Noir, this dry farmed vineyard sits just up the hill from the famed Avenue of Giants in Humboldt County. This bottling, crafted by neighboring Terragena Vineyards using Elk Prarie fruit, beautifully expresses the world class terroir of this out-of-the-way locale. The fruit profile here is wonderfully fresh, lean, and springy, leaning more towards what one might expect from Burgundy over most of California. Beautiful forest tones are present throughout the aromatic and lifted nose balanced by earth and persistent salinity. While still largely untapped and undeveloped as a winegrowing region Humboldt County has shown amazing potential for high quality viticulture, and producers like Terragena are doing an excellent job of championing its cause.