Nose

Apricot, with floral notes of rose, hibiscus & cherry blossom on the nose.

Palate

Tangerine, raspberry & strawberry softly land on the palate punctuated by hints of rhubarb & blood orange. An overall smooth mouthfeel is balanced by an ever-present, vibrant acidity leading to a long lasting, dry finish.

Growing Conditions

Our Sandy Hill Vineyard is located in the beautiful rolling hills of Coatesville, PA adjacent to an Amish farm. This 22 acre property sits on a sunny, south facing slope & like its namesake, is quite sandy, rocky as well with shiny, mineral rich clay & tons of red worms. At an elevation of 860ft & a 45 minute drive northwest of our Chadds Ford Estate, this site is overall much cooler making it an ideal location for Pinot Noir to thrive. We grow clones 777, 667, 115, 828 & Pommard. Each clone contributes unique qualities that when blended together, create a beautifully balanced wine.

2024 turned out to be a great growing season! In the Spring we had an early budbreak on our vines and were fortunate the temperature never dropped and damaged the exposed buds. During June and early July we had very little rain and a few heat spikes which contributed to earlier grape maturity. We managed to pick the majority of our grapes, including red grapes for rose throughout the months of August and September before hurricane Helene hit. Overall it was a warmer vintage than the previous year with the resulting wines showcasing riper fruit notes.

Harvest

We harvested Pinot Noir for rose wine production on August 15, 2024.

Winemaking

The grapes were destemmed & crushed using our closed tank pneumatic press with a long, slow pressing allowing for just a few hours of skin contact. 97% of the wine was fermented in stainless steel with the remained 3% fermented in barrel. The resulting wines were blended together to create a light & refreshing rose with additional structure pulled from the barrel tannins as well as a more rounded mouthfeel than the previous vintage.

Food Pairing

Chevre, Brie, Gouda, Grilled Shrimp, Caprese Salad, Salmon Burger