The Horseshoe Bend Vineyard is the coolest and most coastal of our three Vineyard Designates. The vineyard is a ridge top site at the crown of the sub-region known as Occidental Ridge, located on the extreme western edge of the Russian River Valley appellation, above the coastal town of Occidental. Cool ocean breezes create a bright, firm acidity in the Pinot, while the elevation allows for enough warmth to ripen the tiny clusters, as it sits above the famous fog banks of the Russian River Valley below. The small concentrated clusters give the wine a unique structure and texture while adding a streak of earthiness and darker spices.

2011 was a very exciting vintage for us. We had a cool spring which resulted in extremely low yields throughout the Russian River Valley- we lost 40% of our crop. That being said, there is a silver lining to cool vintages like this. What we lost in volume in case production is more than made up for in balanced, deeply concentrated fruit with bright, natural acidity. All four of our 2011 Pinots are beautifully, deeply complex due to the extended hang time that the cool weather allowed.

2014 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Tasting Competition- Double Gold
2014 Houston International Livestock Show & Rodeo Wine Competition - Gold - Gold
Wine Enthusiast Magazine - 91 pts., Cellar Selection
2013 Sonoma County Harvest Fair - GOLD MEDAL
North Coast Wine Challlenge- 93pts.

“Once again, I was deeply impressed with the wines I tasted from Guy Davis. Most of the wines are made from Davis’ own holdings in the Russian River, although a number of these offerings are made from fruit purchased in other appellations.” – eRobertParker.com

The Horseshoe Bend Vineyard is located in the Occidental Ridge subregion, on the extreme western edge of the Russian River Valley. The vineyard is situated on a ridge top at the crown of the subregion, above the coastal town of Occidental. The elevation of the Horseshoe Bend Vineyard is at approximately 1200 feet, keeping it above the fog line on most days. The vineyard is on an eastern facing hillside with vineyard rows running north to south. This location enjoys much lower overall temperatures due to the coastal influence, yet has full sun exposure throughout the day. The Pinot Noir grown in this vineyard grows in small, concentrated clusters, with firm acidity and a dark, rich color.

At Davis Family Vineyards we strive to highlight the unique characteristics that make fruit from each vineyard, from each varied mico-climate, so very special and unique. All of our Pinot Noir is aged in French oak for 10 months. 1/3 of the barrels are new, 1/3 are one year old, and 1/3 are 2 year old. In doing so, we are able to benefit from the finesse and structure of barrel aging, while not overwhelming the varietal characteristics of Pinot Noir.

Guy tastes through and then hand selects his favorite barrels for the single vineyard bottling of the Horseshoe Bend Pinot Noir. The remaining barrels are then used in our Russian River Valley blend.

The fermentation was conducted using native yeast in small, temperature controlled, open top fermentors. Gentle punch downs were done over a 3-4 week fermentation, after a 5-7 day cold soak. The Pinot is then pressed and transferred directly into barrel, using gravity flow.