Barsotti Vineyard Gamay Noir

The Barsotti Vineyard is located at 2800’ elevation above the historic town of Placerville in the El Dorado appellation of the Sierra Foothills. The vines here were planted in 2005 by talented local stonefruit grower Ron Mansfield for the legendary Bay Area winemaker Steve Edmunds. Steve and Ron are true visionaries who saw the potential for growing incredible Gamay in the decomposed granite soils of this rugged site. It was a well-calculated risk to plant some of the first true Gamay Noir in California in this receptive site, and in 2010 another few acres were added. The vineyard blocks slope gently towards the deepest section of the American River canyon which ushers cooling breezes down from the nearby snow-capped peaks of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Days in this region are bright and warm, punctuated by crisp evenings that help the fruit ripen slowly while retaining freshness and verve. The granitic soils are similar to those found in some of the top sites for Gamay in its homeland, the Beaujolais region of France. We feel strongly that Barsotti is proving itself as a brilliant terroir to grow the Gamay grape and we look forward to many more years of working with Ron Mansfield and his son Chuck to produce wines of distinctive personality from the magic combination of Gamay and Granite.

Elevation: 2,800’
Clone/Selection: 358
Soils: Musick Series; Decomposed Granite
Vine Density: 5’x10’
Farming: Sustainable
Planted: 2005