Coyote’s Run started this whole Black Paw / Red Paw thing with their Pinot Noirs. They noticed that their vineyard had a distinctive soil division, part of the soil was black clay, the other part was red clay. To view this cool diversion from wine, here’s an interesting little thing to do when you visit the winery: if you look out the window, or stand on the deck, in early spring or late fall, before the grapes and foliage obscure the view, you can actually make out the proverbial “line in the sand” that separates the two vineyards. Now, back to the wine. The next experiment the Coyoteers took was to separate their Cabernet Franc into red and black grown grapes. In 2007, they took a little Chardonnay out for a test run, but only black paw stuff, red will be introduced in the 2008 vintage; so unfortunately there is no comparing the two – but you can taste this inaugural segregated wine and still be impressed. This wine spent 6 months in Hungarian oak and only 80% of the wine went through malolactic fermentation (turning the harsh malic acid into softer lactic acid) thus giving the wine that sweet-and-sour dichotomy: keeping crisp acidity with a round, full mouthfeel. The nose is fruity, without too much barrel influence to take it over: there’s good pear smells with hints of vanilla. In the mouth, it retains its crispness, due to that 80% malolactic decision, along with a nice display of citrus and a subtle touch of spice. Meanwhile, the finish is medium in length and you’re very much in green apple territory here – lovely. Price $21.00 - Rating ****