This vintage of Russian River Valley Pinot Noir is from three different vineyard sights of the Dutton Ranch, located in the Green Valley (a sub-appellation of the Russian River Valley ). The predominant clones are Dijon #115 and Clone #777. These improved Pinot Noir clones from Burgundy have raised the bar on Pinot Noir quality in California . The only down side being that they have low yields, so we don’t get as much of this wonderful fruit as we would like! The Vintage The 2004 growing season got off to an early start, which led to one of the earliest harvest seasons we have seen in 26 years (with some wineries starting harvest as early as July)! We had unusually warm weather in the beginning of March triggering early budbreak. We had a warm Spring and a relatively mild summer, which allowed the grapes to ripen at a slow, steady pace, ideal for Pinot Noir. September heated things up and really accelerated harvest. The heat helped develop tannin and structure, even in this cool appellation. We harvested the grapes 2-3 weeks earlier than usual (September 8 th to September 23 rd) at an average brix of 25.7.