Winemaker Notes
The aromas of our 2018 Garys' Pinot show beautifully complex notes of ripe red fruits, spice and mineral notes - so typical of this outstanding vineyard. The palate is full and intense, with flavors mirroring the aromas extending throughout its gentle finish.
Professional Ratings
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Connoisseurs' Guide
Rich and well-structured, this is, in short, a complete Pinot Noir that hits all of the right marks. It offers up full and enveloping aromas and flavors that are rife with persistent, well-defined, red and black cherry fruit and already shows a good deal of layering with the sure promise of more to come. It is a deeply satisfying effort that is bound to please in the short term, yet it is easy to predict that three to five years of forbearance will make what is a very good example of Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot even better still.
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.