Bernardus Sierra Mar Vineyard Pinot Noir 2017
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The 2017 Sierra Mar Pinot is showing its usual elegant style. In the aromas, one find scents of spicy red fruits with a hint of toasty oak. On the palate, soft and lush flavors of ripe red cherry and cranberry along with subtle hints of oak spice. This Pinot is perfect to enjoy now or can be aged for several years to come.
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Wine Enthusiast
Plum and cranberry aromas are lifted by mace and cinnamon on the nose of this single-vineyard expression from the Carmel Valley-based producer. Mulberry, red-plum and roasted berry flavors meet with orange rind and wild thyme on the palate.
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Wine Spectator
This is flush with fresh minerality and flavors of dried red fruits and spice, supported by crisp acidity. The fine-grained finish offers some graphite accents.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
This bright, lithe and lively young Pinot eschews heft and far-reaching complexity and fixes instead on very well-stated, sweet red cherry fruit right from the start, and it stays focused on just that throughout its considerable length. It does not lack for ripeness, but neither is it one for bluster and bigness, and it earns enthusiastic endorsement for its persistence, precision and admirable fruity length.
Other Vintages
2019-
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Robert
Parker
Pon appreciates wine as an art-- a form of art that transcends the ordinary. His dream with Bernardus is to make a red wine equal to the finest from Bordeaux. To achieve this purpose, Ben, a Dutchman who could have planted vineyards anywhere in the world, has chosen the Carmel Valley for his estate vineyards and winery. Since the early 1970's, there has been a growing awareness of the outstanding potential for Bordeaux varieties from this new viticultural appellation. The Bernardus estate vineyards of Marinus and Featherbow Ranch are located in the Cachagua region of the Carmel Valley. We have been told that Cachagua is the Spanish word Native Americans used for deep or hidden water. It has been said that Native Americans believed that all things in nature were sacred and interrelated. Their respect for balance in nature is carried on in the vineyards of Bernardus. More than 300 live oaks have been preserved to thrive among carefully planted vines.
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.