History
Pamela and Glen Gunsalus left careers in medical research, bought land near the small town of Graton, and planted Pinot Noir in 2001. Talisman has bottled a Gunsalus Vineyard designation since the 2007 vintage, and Freeman folded the fruit prominently into its Russian River Pinot Noir blends from 2010.
The Site
Ten acres on a northwest-facing slope in the Green Valley of Russian River Valley, on well drained Sebastopol loam and Goldridge sandy loam in the fog belt south of Forestville.
Vines and Blocks
Pinot Noir throughout, in Dijon 114, 115, 667 and 777.
The Wines
Gunsalus Pinot Noir shows the fog-belt profile, bright, high-toned and delicate, from a site its owners tend, in Talisman's words, like a treasured garden plot.