Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Very tight but also very concentrated, with great density and focus. Ends with a complex mix of berry and loamy earth flavors that are focused and persistent. The most closed and restrained of the 2009 Kosta Brown wines.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2009 Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard is a big, implosive wine. It boasts tons of muscle and depth, but also comes across as a little heavy next to the other wines in this lineup, with limited expressiveness in its aromatics and fruit. If the wine softens, it may merit a higher score down the road.
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.