Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Connoisseurs' Guide
Pinots from this well-regarded vineyard are rarely wanting in richness, and while this one convincingly makes just that point, it shows a degree of crafting and polish that very few do. It is rich, it is concentrated and it is surprisingly complex in its youth with layers of creamy oak, subtle herbs, spice and brioche underpinned by deep and ongoing, ripe cherry fruit. It is showy stuff, but it is also terrifically well-balanced, and even if there is nothing about it that dissuades drinking now, there is plenty to suggest that it is some years away from reaching its very considerable best.
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Wine Spectator
Fresh and vibrant, featuring snappy wild berry, cola, raspberry and dusty earth notes. Tight but expansive, with the fruit playing a bigger role toward the finish, where the tannins grip and hold the flavors. Drink now through 2021.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
One of the more tight and backwards efforts from this vineyard, the 2013 Pinot Noir Garys’ Vineyard was mostly destemmed (19% whole clusters) and aged 16 months in 46% new French oak. Medium-bodied, focused and downright racy on the palate, it still has some whole cluster notes in its sappy spring flowers, cassis and black raspberry-scented bouquet. It’s a beautiful wine, but needs 2-3 years of cellaring.
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.