Conspire is what Winemaker/Proprietor Amy Aiken likes to call her “Anything But Cabernet” wine. For this bright and fruity Pinot Noir she went to one of California’s best sources of Pinot Noir, the Russian River Valley. Following a wild-yeast fermentation, the wine spent 16 months maturing in French oak. It has a deep ruby color and forward black cherry and boiled black tea aromatics. There’s a bit of spice mingled with cherry-berry in the flavors and the wine finishes with good length, ample fruit and 14.4% alcohol. The ripe berry and spice carry this wine and should help it to develop further over the next few years.
Conspire, Russian River Valley (Sonoma County, California) Pinot Noir 2008
By Gerald D. Boyd