2008 Littorai Pinot Noir The Pivot Vineyard

(from a vineyard planted on pale Goldridge loam, located between Sebastopol and Freestone) Medium red. Deeper-pitched and less floral on the nose than the Platt, with plum, strawberry and forest floor notes dominating. Spicy plum and redcurrant flavors show a supple texture and enticing sweetness, but less tension than the Platt. The wine's minerally finish gives it a slightly dusty, austere quality today. Just the third crop from these vines. Winemaker Lemon destemmed all his pinots in 2008, as he wanted to make fruit-forward wines and not risk introducing any smoke taint from the fires into his wines. (In 2007, he vinified with 10% to 25% whole clusters.) All press wine and all of the Hirsch Vineyard juice went into a Sonoma Coast bottling, while all of his wine from Anderson Valley vineyards was declassified into a single Anderson Valley bottling. These two appellation wines were released in February of 2009, barely five months after the harvest.