Las Brisas Vineyard

Lost Canyon Winery produces one of our favorite Pinot Noir from the Las Brisas vineyard of Francis Mahoney.

The Las Brisas Vineyard is 115-acres located in Los Carneros in Sonoma County. Francis Mahoney was one of the first to study Pinot Noir clonal selection in Carneros, a project he started in the 1970s. Pinot Noir from California had for good reasons a very poor reputation before this time. The Pinot’s planted were of high-yield clones, the grape was planted in the wrong areas, and the wine making was uninspired. Since that time a renaissance in Pinot Noir has occurred. An element in this change is work in clonal selection, an area that Mahoney dedicated himself. Francis offered the University of California his land for field study back in 1973.  He worked with Davis on several clones, and eventually selected the best for planting in his vineyards. The results have lead to vineyards like Las Brisas that have an assortment of 7 complementary clones that produce exceptional Pinot Noir fruit. Lost Canyon uses three clones from Los Brisas, Dejon 115, UCD 18, and Swan.

Las Brisas vineyard is an old stream bed laid in with decomposed sandstone, silt and gravel, and about 20% black clay, typical of the Carneros. The vines are low yielding placed close together to enhance the overall yield of the vineyard without compromising the quality. The vineyards name acknowledges the dependable and beneficial Pacific breezes that blow through it from the Petaluma Gap, cooling the vines and producing gradual ripening of the grapes. The temperatures aren’t nearly as warm as those farther north, the wind blows more frequently, and the fog lingers longer. All of the qualities perfect for growing exceptional Pinot Noir. The wines of Las Brisas can be described as burgundian in style showing less fruit than their cousins of the Russian River.  This vineyard produces pure expressions of ripe, red cherry fruit and a hint of spice and mint, making wines with lovely textures and soft tannins. In the early years the wines exhibited more of the mint quality due to the location of Eucalyptus trees on the boarder of the vineyard, but after the removal of the trees this quality has become less prominent.  The wines show well when they are young, yet has enough structure to evolve for several years.