| Producer | Marine Layer |
| Country | United States |
| Region | California |
| Subregion | Sonoma Coast |
| Varietal | Pinot Noir |
| Vintage | 2021 |
| Sku | 17323 |
| Size | 750ml |
The 2021 Marine Layer 'Lyra' Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir is a luminous ruby garnet color in the glass. The nose is wonderfully expressive with gorgeous strawberry and red cherry fruits over darker plum and berry fruits that open with a few minutes of air. This wine is laced with an incredible array of savory spice notes including rose petal, cola, and roasted almond all spritzed with a vibrant core of juicy acidity and a touch of tangerine skin spritz!
The fruit that goes into this beauty combines some of the top vineyards in the Sonoma Coast including fruit from the Dutton-Gravenstein Vineyard, Gap's Crown, and from their estate vineyard. 35% whole cluster gives this wine plenty of definition and power as well as amazingly lifted aromatics!
"Lyra” is one of the oldest and brightest constellations found in the California summer sky, arriving as the vines awaken back to life and departing at harvest. It presides with a watchful eye over the evolution of our Pinot Noir vineyards as they progress through their annual cycle from bud to flower to grape.
The 2021 Lyra Pinot Noir is a barrel selection from some of our favorite vineyard sites within the Sonoma Coast AVA. The 2021 blend is predominantly comprised of Pinot Noir from the Marine Layer Vineyard (44%) and the Dutton-Gravenstein Vineyard (39%), both of which lie in the Sebastopol Hills sub-AVA. The blend also includes small lots from the Whistler and Walala Vineyards from the north Sonoma Coast sub-AVA of Annapolis, small lots of Grand Vent and Gap's Crown Vineyards from the south Sonoma Coast sub-AVA of Petaluma Gap, and a touch of Dutton-Jentoft Vineyard from the west Sonoma Coast sub-AVA of Green Valley.
Fruit harvested by hand in early September. Hand-sorted and gently de-stemmed to keep whole berries intact, with 35% whole-cluster inclusion. Three to four-day cold soak under dry ice to preserve freshness. Native yeast fermentation in two 5 ton open-top tanks with gentle pumpovers and manual punchdowns at peak fermentation. After three weeks on the skins, wine was gravity drained overnight and barreled down for malolactic. Wine aged for 11 months in 25% new oak until gently racked off of lees, and the blend assembled. Bottled unfined and lightly filtered.
Red cherries and wild strawberries followed by orange peel, kola nuts and baking spices. Medium-bodied, bright acidity with fascinating velvety and juicy tannins. Precisely framed and polished. Crunchy and vibrant. 30% whole-cluster. Aged in 25% new French oak barriques.
Floral perfume is expressive in the 2021 Pinot Noir Lyra, with cinnamon sticks, roses, and red cherry notes. Medium-bodied, it is ripe with red plum, wild herbs, and a bit of toasted oak spice on the finish. It is savory and dry, with fine tannins and a bit of crunchy texture from the partial use of whole clusters. It’s drinking well now and will drink well over the next 6-8 years.
The 2021 Pinot Noir Lyra is a very pretty, exotic wine. Crushed red berry fruit, cinnamon, mint and blood orange lend notable complexity to this racy, flavorful appellation-level Pinot. Vineyard sites are Gaps Crown, Whistler, Dutton, Gravenstein and Jentoft.
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