Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Moving back to the Santa Lucia Highlands releases, the 2014 Pinot Noir Garys' Vineyard offers lots of savory, medium-bodied, complex notes of sassafras, scrub brush, black cherry, peppery spice and earth in a perfectly balanced, layered package. Its integrated acidity and fine tannin all suggest it will drink nicely through 2022.
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Wine Spectator
A rich, unctuous style, with layers of mocha, blackberry, wild berry, currant and boysenberry, yet for all the richness, this glides on the palate, ending with a long, lingering aftertaste that keeps repeating the dark berry themes. Drink now through 2022.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2014 A.P. Vin Garys' Pinot Noir has lots to offer. More than just fruit, this wine shows savory spices and dried herbs. The complex finish pairs it well with an oven-baked smoked ham shoulder. (Tasted: February 9, 2017, San Francisco, CA)
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Perhaps the most highly regarded appellation within Monterey County, Santa Lucia Highlands AVA benefits from a combination of warm morning sunshine and brisk afternoon breezes, allowing grapes to ripen slowly and fully. The result is concentrated, flavorful wines that retain their natural acidity. Wineries here do not shy away from innovation, and place a high priority on sustainable viticultural practices.
The climatic conditions here are perfectly suited to the production of ripe, rich Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. These Burgundian varieties dominate an overwhelming percentage of plantings, though growers have also found success with Syrah, Riesling and Pinot Gris.