2023 Héroe Pinot Noir
This lovely Pinot Noir wine features a strong perception of baked cherry, cranberry, and boysenberry pie. The earthy notes are brought forth with notes of cracked pepper, eucalyptus, and bay leaf. The mouthfeel features a medium-rich body on the palate, where floral lavender notes and pomegranates strengthen ripe cherry flavors. Ripe black cherry fruit married with rose petal aromas in the mid-palate. Then, the finish is accented by touches of violets and fresh-cut cedar wood. I love this wine’s crisp mouthfeel ignited by prominent acidity, which makes it a perfect pairing with Chicken Marsala.
The grapes were harvested at night and brought to the winery in half-ton macro bins during the cool evening. I feel that we nailed it! We picked these two Pinot lots at the perfect level of maturity. The fruit was just stunning; not underripe or overripe, but perfectly ready for harvest, balanced in sugar and acidity. We waited till picking was completed and began destemming at 5:00 AM during the cool of the morning. Fermentation was slow and steady and took 21 days for completion. Two lots were used in the creation of this wine, Clone 115 and Clone 777. We needed to ferment and age these lots separately, giving us the ability to craft two different tasting Pinot Noirs that would ultimately be joined together during bottling. The wines were aged in neutral barrels, 777 in small 225L used French barrels, and Clone 115 aged in used American 500L barrels.
Héroe wines have been produced commercially at Sculpterra Winery and Sculpture Garden since 2012. Héroe celebrates the vineyard and winery workers; more specifically, the vineyard workers who are responsible for every operation at Sculpterra! Lugardo “Uga” Zatarian, featured on the front label of this bottle, is that man. Uga worked eight years at Frankel Family Vineyards doing all sorts of jobs in the vineyard. His tireless efforts and dedication to farming excellence, like all the others who work in our vineyard, are the reason our wine taste so wonderful. Uga retired in 2011 and this label honors the memory of his dedication to Sculpterra as he set a high standard!
| Download Wine Notes |
| Vintage | 2023 |
| Varietal | Pinot Noir |
| Varietal Composition | 100% Pinot Noir |
| Appellation | Paso Robles |
| Vineyard | Frankel Family Estate |
| Harvest Date | 09/02/2022 |
| Acid | 0.63 |
| PH | 3.50 |
| Residual Sugar | 0.85 |
| Alcohol | 14.50% |
| Volume | 750 ml |
| Bottling Date | 08/15/2024 |
| Cases Produced | 630 |
Our Héroe Pinot Noir comes from the Frankel Family Estate Vineyards in Paso Robles, California. It is grown in a part of the state that is traditionally not known for Pinot. However, Frankel Vineyards has the perfect mesoclimate for high quality Pinot Noir. This 31-acre vineyard, planted on the valley floor of the estate, is protected by mountains to the south and west. The soils are a blend of clay and loam with sections containing limestone and large gravelly stones. The mountains provide early afternoon shade, protecting the thin-skinned berries from overheating and dangerous sun exposure. Two clones are produced in the block; clone 115 and 777. These Pinot Noir clones have big differences in taste and structure but work marvelously blended together. Clone 777 was harvested first, as typical. Clone 115 takes longer to ripen and develops more tannins. The grapes were harvested at night and delivered to the winery at first light for winemaking to begin!
