Canihan
2008 Exuberance Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir
California: Sonoma Valley
Mission Briefing
Pinot Run
What do you get when you combine the winemaking skills of Alex Beloz, the vineyard management of the legendary, Phil Coturri - and the passion of Bill Canihan? That’s easy… Today’s powerful, expressive 2008 Canihan Family Cellars Exuberance Pinot Noir!
Shy, initially, decant this highly recommended beauty and enjoy the spoils of our discovery. It really comes alive with a little decanting or swirling.
This darkly delicious Pinot Noir comes from Canihan’s estate vineyard, which borders on Los Carneros. We’ve always loved Canihan’s offerings and today’s wine is no exception. This 2009 Exuberance Pinot, Bill Canihan’s flagship wine, delivers more oomph than we’ve experienced from Canihan’s wines in the past - and we love it for that!
Tasting Profile
| Look: | Deep and concentrated, with to color of dark plum juice. When swirled, ruby highlights catch the light. As the wine settles, wine-stained legs move swiftly down the glass. |
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| Smell: | On opening, this wine delivers stewed stonefruit, rhubarb, black cherry, dark brown spice and cedar. As the wine opens, it adds subtle sassafras, tomato vine, fresh potting soil and black cherry candy. |
| Taste: | Delicious, lush dark plum, black cherry, rhubarb pie, sassafras, toasty vanilla and dark chocolate powder take the lead. After the wine breathes for a while, it reveals subtle dried violets and a hint of graphite. |
| Finish: | Long and very flavorful, with dark fruit flavors that actually increase for a moment, radiating flavor and earthy components outward to the edges of the palate. At the tail end, a softly dry, crushed velvet feel persists, along with dried flowers and subtle minerals. |
| Pairing: |
What the Winery Says
Awards and Accolades
Gold Medals: 2011 SF Chronicle Wine Competition, 2011 SF International Competition and Pinot Noir Shootout
About Exuberance
The Exuberance label is our reserve bottling that we will produce for only the finest vintages. Vintages that we believe will be one of the finest of the decade. It takes exceptional grapes to make award-winning wine. Our unique terroir, meticulous organic farming practices, and minimalist winemaking philosophy result in exceptional wines.
Vineyard Notes
Planted in 1998, our 3.75-acre, organic Sonoma Coast vineyard, bordering on Los Carneros is comprised entirely of French Dijon Clones 115, 667 and 777. The vineyard experiences the full impact of San Francisco Bay’s cooling fog in the summer. Phil Coturri’s biodynamic vineyard management practices along with dry-farming and cane pruning result in small yields (less than 1.5 tons per acre) of the highest quality grapes. The vineyard is certified organic by CCOF.
The Canihan Family vineyards are ideally located in the Sonoma Valley, and because we border on the Los Carneros Appellation, the vineyards receive the cool evening breezes and early morning fog from San Francisco Bay that provide for perfect grape growing conditions. Biodynamic vineyard management practices, dry-farming, and hand-harvesting only at complete ripeness, fermentation with naturally occurring native yeast, and no fining or filtering result in flavorful wines expressive of our “terroir”.
Varietal
100% Estate Grown Pinot Noir Dijon Clones 115, 667, and 777
Appellation
Sonoma Valley
Oak
100% French Oak, Aged 22 Months
Alcohol
14.3%
pH
3.76
TA
.6g/100ml
Production
180 Cases
About the Winery
At Canihan Family Cellars phenomenal wines are hand-crafted from cool, dry-farmed and certified organic vineyards. Our three varietals, Pinot Noir, Syrah and Cabernet Franc, have achieved critical acclaim since our first vintage.
The Canihan vineyards are ideally located in Sonoma, on the border of the Sonoma Coast and Carneros Appellations. The vineyards receive the cool evening breezes and frequent fog from the San Francisco Bay that provide perfect grape growing conditions.
Winemaker Bill Canihan
Bill Canihan was no stranger to wine growing up, and often enjoyed a glass at the dinner table with family (half wine, half water until he was old enough). While attending college at University of the Pacific (UOP), he shared his hobby with friend and roommate Jack Galante, who was planning to enter the winery business after graduation. Galante’s family had land in Carmel Valley that would make a suitable vineyard, and it got Bill thinking too…what about his own family’s land in Sonoma?
It was a parcel of acreage on the cusp of Cameros that his father had bought from a Basque farmer in 1975 and left fallow to let the land rest and rejuvenate. The long-term plan was always to plant an organic vineyard, fulfilling the dream of Bill’s Swiss immigrant grandfather who arrived in Califomia with exquisitely bad timing, intending to produce wine… just as Prohibition began.
It was just the motivation Bill needed.
It was 1998 and the Canihans sought out noted viticulturist Phil Coturri to direct the planting of the vineyard and winemaker Alexandra Romanini to assist them in producing the first wines.
Canihan Family Vineyards are located in Sonoma Valley near the Los Carneros appellation where the grapes receive cool evening breezes and frequent fog from the San Francisco Bay – perfect grape growing conditions for cool climate varietals like Pinot Noir. Bill Canihan is committed to farming sustainably and biodynamically and his vineyard is certified organic by CCOF (California Certified Organic Farms)
Vineyard Notes
Canihan Wines features Biodynamic Organic Vineyards, ideally located in the Sonoma Valley, bordering on the Los Carneros Appellation. The vineyards receive the cool evening breezes and early morning fog from San Francisco Bay that provide for perfect grape growing conditions.
Our estate vineyards were first planted in 1998; however, we had nurtured the land for more than 30 years. William Canihan Sr. purchased the land from a Basque farmer in 1975. Because of our commitment to the land and organic practices, we let nature cleanse the soil for 23 years.
Organic vineyard management practices, dry-farming, and hand-harvesting only at complete ripeness, fermentation with naturally occurring native yeast, and no fining or filtering result in flavorful wines expressive of our “terroir”.
We use winemaking techniques that are influenced by classic European traditions. The wines are a pleasure to drink young, and will continue to improve in softness and subtlety as they age in the bottle.