Joseph Phelps Freestone Pinot Noir

2017 Pinot Noir, Freestone Vineyards

Winemaker Notes

The 2017 Pinot Noir opens with jammy red fruit and freshly picked strawberries followed by tangy Bing cherry, raspberry and baking spice notes. A balanced, youthfully focused wine that finishes with white pepper spice and hints of tangerine peel.

Winemaking Data

Grapes were picked under lights and sorted before being gravity fed to tank for a long natural fermentation using an overall average of 20% whole clusters in the final blend. Regular punch downs resulted in a structured wine with silken texture and a distinctive Freestone spice character prevalent in this area of the western Sonoma Coast.

Vintage Notes

The 2017 Sonoma Coast growing season saw much needed record-breaking winter rainfall which helped replenish our groundwater and the vines. The moderate start to the season helped the vines return to a more traditional mid-March bud break, followed by a normal bloom period and summer growing season. Overall, 2017 was warm due to summer heat spikes and an accelerated ripening just prior to picking. The Pinot Noir fruit from our Pastorale and Quarter Moon Vineyards developed concentrated red and black fruit characteristics with balanced tannin structure.

Reviews

96 Points & Editors' Choice - Virginie Boone, Wine Enthusiast
This expressive wine impresses in its expanse of savory tension and complexity, with accents of clove and cardamom. It is lightly styled on the palate and shows good integration of oak and polished tannins, filled out by the berry fruit core that offers length and breadth. Editors’ Choice. (Aug. 2019)

94 Points - James Suckling
Lots of blueberries, blackberries and slate on the nose. Medium-bodied, integrated and tight. Refined and driven. Drink now or hold. (May 2019)

92+ Points - Erin Brooks, Robert Parker Wine Advocate
Pale to medium ruby-purple in color, it has a very open, gregarious nose of dried rose petals, potpourri, tree bark, red licorice and ripe red and black fruits with pretty spicy notes of cinnamon stick and clove. Light to medium-bodied, it has good layers of spicy, perfumed fruit in the mouth, with soft, grainy tannins and great freshness, finishing long and spicy. (Apr. 2019)

93 Points - Jeb Dunnuck
Leading off the Pinot Noirs, the 2017 Pinot Noir Freestone Vineyards comes from a handful of sites and spent 13 months in one-third new French oak. Its ruby hue is followed by a beautiful bouquet of cranberries, caramelized cherries, orange rind, and spicy aromas and flavors. It's nicely textured, balanced, has good acidity, and a great finish. (Jan. 2020)

93 Points - Antonio Galloni, Vinous
The 2017 Pinot Noir Freestone Vineyards is soft, supple and super-expressive. It offers dark cherry, plum, spice, leather and menthol on the nose, while bright red cherry, rose petal, mint and blood orange flavors are beautifully layered. The 20% whole clusters add aromatic nuance without overpowering the wine.
(May 2019)

Excellent Bottles of Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir - Food & Wine
A distinctly floral expression from the Sonoma Coast, lithe and limber on the nose, with flavors of sweet cherries and blood oranges on the mid-palate that resolve in more savory nuances of forest floor and mineral. (March 2020)

90 Points - Wine & Spirits
This wine’s clean lines shepherd translucent red-berry fruit toward darker tart cherry-skin flavors. It gains floral notes as it opens with air, a lush and gentle pinot for seared duck breast. (June 2020)

750ml

ABV 14%