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What We Say 2005 'OGV' Pinot Noir
SECRET SAVINGS ALERT
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SUPERIOR WINE ALERT
Today’s Pinot Noir holds a special place in our Spy hearts, for it is exquisitely delicious and fun to drink. It also has a great QPR!
Mission Codename: The nick of time
Operative: Agent Red
Objective: Investigate rumors that Inman Family is about to raise its price on their fabled OGV Pinot Noir. If true, secure an allocation and make it available to our Operatives before prices are inline with the wines quality
Mission Status: Accomplished!
Current Winery: Inman Family Wines
Wine Subject: 2005 Inman Family OGV Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
Winemaker: Kathleen Inamn
Backgrounder: The Russian River Valley in Sonoma County is attracting great attention from wine lover’s around the world. Why? The quality of the fruit produced here is usually exceptional. Today’s wine, from Inman Family Wines, sets a new standard for quality and value. Recently, The Wine Spies learned that Inamn would be raising its prices. The wine is an especially good value today and, in our opinions, even after they raise their prices. Read Agent Red’s tasting notes and mission report below
Wine Spies Tasting Profile:
Look – Sparkling clear ruby red with pink edges and perfect clarity. The wine settles fast after swirling, revealing sparkling pink edges and leaving behind tightly-space and long, fat legs.
Smell – Big aromatic black tea, raspberry, gunpowder, cherry and soft pomegranate with horsey black cherry
Feel – Light and very round, almost velvety up front, then grippy, tight and cool with velvety top of mouth and center of tongue tannins
Taste – A delicious and exotic mix of cherry, strawberry, cardamom, softest cinnamon, exotic woods, pomegranate, Irish breakfast tea and tart cherry
Finish – Long, sweet and silky-soft, with follow-on flavors of sandalwood, lightest white pepper and sweet rose petal
Conclusion – We are VERY impressed with this wine! The QPR (Quality Price Ratio) is high, and with the wine about to go up in price by $10 a bottle, we are stocking up. If you love fantastic Pinot Noir, we suggest that you stock up, too! This is a beautiful and elegant wine with a tender mouthfeel and exotic aromas and flavors that are sure to impress anyone that you serve it to. With enough acid to stand up to most food pairings, this is a great food wine. Personally, I enjoyed sipping it on its own with fellow Agents.
Mission Report:
As a Wine Spy, I rely heavily on my network of moles, assets, double agents and confidential informants to supply me with everything from intel on upcoming wines, those that are about to be gone forever, scores that are about to be announced and, as is the case with today’s wine, a price increase.
Price increases are not overly common, but they are a great sign. An increase can signal that a wine is in high demand, has just received a stellar score, or is about to become very rare. It can also mean that a winery that was keeping its prices artificially low has earned a level of respect. Respect comes from a reputation of excellence in wine production.
Today’s wine fits into this final category. Inman wines are lovingly created works of art, and as with some artists, works can sell for artificially low prices in the beginning. Having earned the respect (and love!) of its customers, Inman is about to bring its prices more in line with reality. Next month, Inamn is predicted to raise the price of today’s wine by at least $10 a bottle. even at that price, we say that the value is still there.
This Estate Pinot Noir from the Inman Family’s Olivet Grange Vineyard is a real delight to drink now. If you lay it down for a few years, it’ll reward you. Personally, we don’t think we’ll have the patience!
Wine Spies Vineyard Check:
The location of the Inman Family OGV Estate Vineyard can be seen in this satellite photo.
What the Winery Says
Inman Family Wines
About This Wine:
Olivet Grange Vineyard (OGV) is the Inman Family’s estate vineyard. This 10.5 acre vineyard is located at the junction of Olivet and Piner Roads amidst some of Sonoma County’s and the Russian River Valley’s most respected vineyards. The property is farmed organically.
The 2005 OGV Pinot Noir has classic Russian River Valley characteristics, but shows a finesse and elegance which make this wine stand out. The 2005 OGV Pinot Noir was made to pair with food and its’ subtle and nuanced flavors and lively acidity create a wonderful interplay with a range of cuisines.
Tasting Notes:
Color: Light, bright, ruby
Aroma: Dried rose petals, beeswax cheery and black tea
Flavor: Tart cherry, wild strawberry, pomegranate, rhubarb, cardamom, sandalwood and other exotic Indian spices. The texture is like silk-satin and wine is medium bodied and has fine tannins and the finish in long.
About The Winery:
At Inman Family Wines we handcraft small lots of Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir . The estate wines reflect the unique imprint of our Olivet Grange Vineyard, located amidst some of Sonoma County’s and the Russian River Valley’s most respected vineyards. We are committed to quality from grape to glass – from our environmentally sensitive, organic and sustainable viticultural practices to our attention to detail in the winemaking.
Our dream has been to grow and produce balanced wines that complement and enhance food and conversation. Whether you enjoy our wines in one of the many fine restaurants serving Inman Family wines or buy them online, we invite you to share our dream. We are now open for private tastings by appointment, so please contact us if you are in the neighborhood.
Winemaking:
The Olivet Grange fruit was picked over three days and fermented as field blends of our clones 114, 115, 667 and 777. An extra clean pick in the field was followed by hand sorting and then de-stemming in 5-ton stainless steel open top fermenters. The de-stemmed fruit was left to cold soak for 4 days. On the fourth day the temperature was raised and the lots were inoculated the following day. The must in each fermenter was punched down three times a day for between 20 and 30 minutes to aid in extraction of color, tannins and flavors. Pumpovers were performed to aid in extraction on day 7. The temperature of the tanks was not allowed to exceed 86 degrees Fahrenheit in all but one of the fermenters which was held to only 68 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature preferred by the Swiss yeast strain with which the must was inoculated. These cooler temperatures preserve the aromas and more delicate flavors of Pinot Noir. No water, acid or enzymes or additions other than yeast and yeast nutrients were used in production.
At the end of primary fermentation, the wines were pressed off and moved to French oak: new (35%), one-year (30%) and older barrels (35%) from a variety of coppers: Remond, Sirugue, Billon and Francois Freres. 50% of the barrels were inoculated with Enoferm Beta and the balance were allowed to completed MLF with indigenous bacteria. MLF completed in all barrels by late November. The wines rested in barrel for 11 months and received weekly batonage for the first six months and every other week until one month prior to bottling.
Technical Analysis:
Appellation: Russian River Valley
Fruit Sources: 100% Olivet Grange Vineyard Estate Grown Pinot Noir, clones 114, 115, 667 and 777
Harvest Data: 2005 was a long, cool, even growing year, which was a contrast to the heat of 2004. We harvested by hand at sunrise on August 28th, September 14th and 15th. At harvest, TAs on the different lots ranged from 0.695 to 0.704 with pH at 3.36 and 3.37. Average BRIX off the trucks was 22.6.
ABV: 13.2%
T.A.: 0.57
pH: 3.59
Production: 750 cases
