Hartford Court Seascape Vineyard Pinot Noir 2017 95 PP

Seascape Vineyard is situated in a panoramic location on a picturesque ridge west of Occidental, California, in the Sonoma Coast AVA. The vineyard borders an old-growth redwood grove and overlooks cascading ridges that lead to Bodega Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The renowned Coastlands Vineyard also borders the property. Since there are no ridges between the ocean and the vineyard, it is extremely cold at Seascape—so cold that Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are often harvested as late as the end of October. The vineyard is farmed to about two tons per acre to ensure proper ripening. Although farming the Seascape vineyard is challenging, the grapes from the Seascape vineyard offer a great reward in the form of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir that burst with intensity, terroir, and structure.

Jeff Stewart is a perfect fit for the Hartford philosophy of "high risk and high reward" in winemaking.
At Hartford Family Winery, traditional winemaking techniques are used to produce delicious wines that express their terroir.

Hand-harvesting and sorting
Gentle handling and sorting of grapes and berries preserve the quality of the fruit.

Destemmed, not crushed
Pinot Noir and Zinfandel are partially destemmed, but not crushed. About 75% whole berries are put into open-top stainless steel tanks, where they undergo cold soaking before fermentation and are punched down daily for about five days to achieve optimal color and mouthfeel. Small lots of Pinot Noir are occasionally fermented as whole clusters.
Before fermentation begins, the whole berries and juice are placed in chilled tanks for nearly five days. This process extracts additional flavors (polyphenols) and smoother tannins that cannot be obtained during warmer fermentation.

Native yeasts for primary and secondary fermentation
After the cold soak of the Pinot Noir and Zinfandel, the cooling jackets are turned off, and the grape juice is allowed to warm up and begin fermentation.

Open-top fermentation
To achieve maximum color and flavor extraction, shallow, wide fermentation vessels are used, which facilitate the mixing (punching down) of the skins. During fermentation, the red grapes are crushed in small open-top fermentation vessels and pressed after sensory evaluation - usually at or shortly before dryness.

French Oak
Only tight-grain French oak barrels are used for the aging of all wines. The wines mature for between 11 and 15 months. The proportion of new French oak generally ranges between 30% and 100%.

Minimal handling
After barrel aging, the wines are generally racked only once before bottling.

Chardonnay production
The Chardonnay is hand-sorted, whole-cluster pressed, and aged 100% in barrels with malolactic fermentation. Batonnage, or stirring of the lees (spent yeast cells), is performed as needed to enhance the structure of the Chardonnay. Normally, all wines are fermented with native yeast and malolactic fermentation - just like our distinctive Pinot Noirs and Old Vine Zinfandels.

Unfined and unfiltered
Most wines are not fined or filtered to preserve the mouth-filling flavors and textures of our wines.

2014

In 2014 Robert Parker in the Wine Advocate commented:

“Hartford Court is run with incredible enthusiasm and competence by Don Hartford and his Winemaker Jeff Stewart. One of the bright shining stars in California winedom, their Chardonnays are purely Burgundian, with sensational purity and ripeness. The Pinot Noirs are among the finest of Northern California and the Zinfandels rank alongside … top Zinfandel producers.” December 2014 The Wine Advocate.

• 97 Points: 2012 Hartford Court Arrendell Vineyard Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley is rated 97 points by Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate. Dec 2014
• 95 Points: 2013 Hartford Hartford Vineyard Zinfandel, Russian River Valley is rated 95 points by Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate. Dec 2014
• 95 Points: 2013 Hartford Fanucchi Wood Road Vineyard Zinfandel, Russian River Valley is rated 95 points by Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate. Dec 2014

2015

In 2015 Robert Parker in the Wine Advocate commented:

“With proprietor Don Hartford in full control and brilliant winemaker Jeff Stewart having access to magnificent cool climate sites (for Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Zinfandel) Hartford Family Winery continues to be one of the great success stories in California Viticulture.” October 2015

• 97 Points: 2013 Hartford Court Arrendell Vineyard Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley is rated 97 points by Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate. Oct 2015
• 96 Points: 2013 Hartford Court Fog Dance Vineyard Pinot Noir, Green Valley of the Russian River Valley is rated 96 points by Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate. Oct 2015
• 96 Points: 2013 Hartford Court Velvet Sisters Vineyard Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley is rated 96 points by Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocatee. Oct 2015
• 95 Points: 2013 Hartford Court Seascape Vineyard Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast is rated 95 points by Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate. Oct 2015
• 96 Points: 2013 Hartford Court Four Hearts Vineyards Chardonnay, Russian River Valley is rated 96 points by Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate. Oct 2015
• 95-97 Points: 2013 Hartford Court Stone Cote Vineyard Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast is rated 95- 97 points by Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate. Oct 2015
• 98 Points: 2014 Hartford Fanucchi Wood Road Vineyard Zinfandel, Russian River Valley is rated 98 points by Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate. Oct 2015
• 96 Points: 2014 Hartford Highwire Vineyard Zinfandel, Russian River Valley is rated 96 points by Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate. Oct 2015
• 96 Points: 2014 Hartford Dina’s Vineyard Zinfandel, Russian River Valley is rated 96 points by Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate. Oct 2015
• 95 Points: 2014 Hartford Hartford Vineyard Zinfandel, Russian River Valley is rated 95 points by Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate. Oct 2015
• 95 Points: 2014 Hartford Fanucchi Wood Road Vineyard Zinfandel, Russian River Valley is rated 95 points by Antonio Galloni’s Vinous. Feb 2015

2016

• Sunset Magazine recommends Highwire Vineyard Zinfandel. Sunset Magazine 2016
• Hartford Russian River Valley Zinfandel Named Wine Spectator's #10 Wines of the Year.

2017

• Hartford Russian River Valley Zinfandel Named Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of the Year at #21

2018

• Hartford introduces new wines into the portfolio - winery exclusive Outer Limits Syrah, Radian Vineyard Chardonnay, and Jurassic Vineyard Chenin Blanc.

2020

• Hailey Hartford Murray named President and Co-Owner at the Hartford Family Winery
• Hartford 2018 Russian River Valley Chardonnay Named Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of the Year at #44.