Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A big, structured, medium to full-bodied effort, the 2013 Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard was completely destemmed and aged 16 months in 46% new French oak. Offering up lots of granite-like minerality, cassis, smoked earth and ripe herbs, it has beautiful mid-palate depth and fine tannin, all of which give it a chiseled, focused feel. Give it 2-3 years.
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Wine Spectator
This wine builds depth and density gracefully, adding subtle graphite and gravel notes to the core of black cherry, raspberry and wild berry flavors, retaining a tight focus and ending with a long, detailed and persistent finish. Drink now through 2022. 132 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.