2022 Ghostwriter Pinot Noir, Santa Cruz County Cuvée
This wine is the core of the Ghostwriter line-up. We expect it to represent the vintage, the appellation, and our approach to them both. What that meant in 2022 was harvesting all of our Pinot from the multiple sites in three days time to avoid excessive sugar and any kind of cooked flavors. Amaya Ridge and Coast Grade came off just before the predicted heat wave and Smith Road and Veranda came off during. This is a year when the cuvée really shows itself being more cohesive and complimentary in flavor than most of the lots were individually. These lots individually were awkward, a bit disjointed, but together, they really have coherency and the feeling that a plan was in place. Because the development time was shortened, the stems were greener than usual and we opted to include less, about 30% compared with the normal 40% and one lot of Veranda was completely destemmed. As always, the fruit leans cranberry and is layered on with spice, a bit of earth, and a subtle creaminess with firm acid, and a very approachable texture and mouthfeel. Despite the tough vintage, I think we have one of the best vintages of cuvée to date. Fermented in open-tops with minimal cap management. This has always been and still is the best value in the Ghostwriter line-up. Approachable, but still ageable. pH 3.64, TA 6.9 g/L