Winemaker Notes
Cherry blossoms, wild strawberries, orange peel and violet notes. Floral and elegant. Mouth: Medium to full body with bright acidity and texture.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
From the Santa Cruz Mountains south of Monterey, the 2016 Pinot Noir Rosella's Vineyard is one of the more exotic, perfumed wines in the lineup, which is the hallmark of this vineyard. Cherry blossoms, wild strawberries, orange peel, and violet notes give way to a floral, elegant, nuanced 2016 that has good acidity as well as texture. It’s going to be even better this time next year and keep for 7-8 years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Pinot Noir Rosella's Vineyard was aged for 16 months in 55% new French oak. It has a medium ruby color and scents of fresh cranberries, pomegranate, Earl Grey tea leaves and loads of floral perfume with notions of potpourri, dried tobacco leaf and scorched earth. Medium-bodied and silky, it's lifted, bright and elegantly styled with appealing, perfumed red fruits and a soft frame, finishing long and super juicy.
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Wine Spectator
Focused and juicy, featuring effusive cherry, raspberry and red plum flavors, backed by sleek tannins and acidity. The luscious finish lingers with vibrant minerality. Drink now through 2023.
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.