Winemaker Notes
Soberanes Vineyard is a world-class site located in the Santa Lucia Mountains of Monterey County, California. The Pisoni and Franscioni families, who have deep roots in the area, planted the 38-acre vineyard in 2008 with Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah. The site’s location in the Santa Lucia Highlands, combined with its unique terroir, make it one of the most sought-after locations for premium wine grapes in California.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
There's a brilliant combination of fresh, juicy raspberry and a struck-stone minerality on the nose of this bottling. The palate surrounds a core of juicy strawberry and pomegranate fruit, with ample layers of peppery, thyme and acidity driving it home.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2022 Domaine Della Soberanes Vineyard Pinot Noir is an outstanding wine. This wine excels in aromas and flavors of sandalwood, dried earth, and boysenberries. Serve it with a well-seasoned roast leg of lamb. (Tasted: October 12, 2024, San Francisco, CA)
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James Suckling
A delicious, succulent and silky pinot with notes of sour cherries, wild strawberries, cranberries and warm spices. Medium-bodied with bright acidity and character. Lively and aerial, with good tension and a crunchy finish that shows wild berries and a lift of spices.
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Wine Spectator
Flirts with jammy, as the core offers up plump plum and boysenberry compote notes, but there's just enough tension via a singed apple wood spine to keep this honest. Light hints of black tea and licorice infuse the finish. For fans of the style. Drink now through 2027. 150 cases made.
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.