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2004 Freeman Akiko's Cuvée Pinot Noir
Each vintage since our inaugural 2002, Freeman has released an Akiko's Cuvée. Akiko and Ken Freeman, with winemaker Ed Kurtzman, taste each barrel of Pinot in the winery from a given vintage and choose their favorites. Then, each person's favorite barrels are put together in a blend (or cuvée), and we subsequently taste each of the blends, blind, so that no one knows whose favorite barrels are in which blend. For the 3rd year in a row, Akiko's blend was everyone's first choice. Merry Edwards' Meredith Estate Vineyard makes up the majority of the 2004 Akiko's Cuvée, with smaller percentages of Bailey, Thomas Road and Keefer Ranch in descending order. Each vineyard adds its own attributes to the wine, and if we could generalize, we'd say that Meredith contributes a Pinot spiciness and soft mouthfeel, Bailey adds a dark red fruit component, Thomas is responsible for much of the structure and aging potential, while Keefer rounds out the aroma profile with exotic scents of rose petals. The 2004 Akiko's Cuvée has much in common with the 2004 Sonoma Coast when it is first opened, but it is soon apparent that it needs more time to develop and soften compared with its appellation sibling. The spicy nose jumps out of the glass right away, with an abundance of fragrant flowers and elegant fruit. In spite of its early approachability, there is a good bit of tannin on the palate, but also plenty of dense, chewy fruit. With a year of cellaring, the 2004 Akiko's Cuvée should be drinking beautifully as the wine integrates fully, although you should try one soon to see what it's like upon release. |
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