Winemaker Notes
Lemon zest, dried cherry, cranberry and subtle fresh basil. Hints of toasted oak, sage brush and caramelized blood orange. Balanced, rich and intricate, with well-integrated tannins and seductive tension. A long, lingering finish.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Aged in 40% new French oak for 11 months, the medium ruby colored 2017 Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands offers a wonderful perfume of cranberry jelly, raspberry and strawberry preserves, boysenberry and rose petal perfume with blood orange and Earl Grey tea leaves, underbrush and pink peppercorn hints. Light to medium-bodied, it's silky, perfumed and elegant with very finely dispersed tannins and juicy freshness lifting the long, understated finish. Lovely!
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Wine Enthusiast
Candied strawberry and raspberry- sorbet aromas are generous yet elegant on the nose, enhanced by dried violet and sandalwood scents. There’s a great snap of juicy red-cherry and mulberry fruit on the palate, where an energetic texture cuts through the rich ripeness.
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Wine Spectator
Well-structured, featuring a vibrant blend of precise dried cherry and raspberry flavors, supported by crunchy acidity. Offers sandalwood notes midpalate, with a long, rich, well-spiced finish. 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.