Winemaker Notes
The 2019 Rosella’s Pinot displays beautiful aromas of ripe red fruits and cola notes. The delicious palate is very smooth with ripe red cherry and cranberry flavors accented by subtle baking spices ending on a long, silky finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Dark-cherry aromas meet with a hint of cotton candy and mesquite-flavored barbecue sauce on the nose of this bottling. The smoky tones extend to the sip, where red-fruit and brown-spice flavors linger amidst the woody elements.
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Wine Spectator
Focused cherry, plum and berry flavors are well-structured, backed by crunchy acidity. Minerally accents linger into the toasty, spicy finish.
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.