Freeman Akiko’s Cuvée Pinot Noir

Freeman has released an Akiko’s Cuvée every vintage since 2002. To make this cuvée, Winemaker Akiko Freeman, Assistant Winemaker Gavin Sharrocks (since 2013), and Winemaking Consultant Ed Kurtzman taste each barrel of Pinot in the winery from a particular vintage and choose their favorites. Each person’s top picks are then put together in various blends (or cuvées), which are tasted, blind, to find a first choice. No one knows whose favorite barrels are in which blend, but somehow Akiko’s pick almost always wins this blind tasting. Ken Freeman also joins in the final stages of the tasting, and has proven to be an excellent tiebreaker.