Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/164544
PHOTO COURTESY OF HANZELL Winemaker Emeritus Bob Sessions holds a Pinot Noir cluster picked from the Sessions Vineyard. promising new vineyards at the estate with cuttings from the original Hanzell Chardonnay and Pinot Noir sélection massale grafted to the diseaseresistant St. George rootstock. During this exciting period, Sessions also began fermenting a portion of the Chardonnay in new oak, a unique winemaking technique that helped Hanzell Vineyards become one of the top brands collected by savvy wine connoisseurs across America. In 1999, behind the scenes Sessions started developing what would become one of the most daring Pinot Noir sites ever created. Located at the steepest point on the Hanzell estate, the fourand-one-half-acre Sessions Vineyard featured seven Pinot Noir clones grafted to four different rootstocks, each planted on rocky Red Hill Series clay and loam soils at a 38-degree slope. The rows were harvested from top to bottom capturing the uniqueness of clonal variation, sun exposure and soils. In short, pure genius. Enter: McNeill. In 2008, Michael McNeill was hired as the fifth winemaker in the winery's history. Under Sessions's guidance, McNeill quickly learns the "Hanzell Way"—a rigorous process based on working vine by vine on the estate and paying attention to every minute detail in the cellar. For a few years, McNeill used the young fruit from the Sessions Vineyard to provide balance, structure and rich flavors in the famed Hanzell Estate Pinot Noir. But in 2010, the fruit was ready to hit the limelight. This May marked the debut release of the Hanzell 2010 Pinot Noir Sessions Vineyard, , Sonoma Valley (SRP $95), a magnificent wine with a true sense of place: sultry aromas of ripe red fruit, sweet tobacco, tea leaf and earth; deep flavors of ripe plum, dark cherry, fresh raspberry, pomegranate, minerals, vanilla and baking spices; a rich velvety texture; elegant tannins; and a burst of bright acidity leading to a long, rewarding finish. "This is just a unique place," says McNeill on the Sessions Vineyard. "There is no question that there is a special energy at this spot. That's what terroir is—and why there's a sexy French word used to describe this mysterious link between climate, soils, sun exposure, topography and grapes." With only 99 cases of this special bottling produced, this new release is very limited. For more tasty sensations influenced by Winemaker Emeritus Bob Sessions, check out the new fall vineyard–designate releases of the 2011 Hanzell Chardonnay from de Brye Vineyard and the 2011 Hanzell Chardonnay from the Ambassador's 1953 Vineyard. There's a story in every bottle—guaranteed. september 2013 / the tasting panel / 69 TP0913_063-103.indd 69 8/22/13 9:23 PM