Lucia Vineyards Garys' Vineyard Pinot Noir 2017
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Robert
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Jeb
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A deep and rich ruby color, the 2017 Garys’ Vineyard Pinot Noir impresses from the moment it’s poured. Notes of Bing cherry, violets, and blackberry crisp shine within this purity, and aromas of orange blossom and cedar add enticing complexity. The ample rainfall of the 2017 season energized the vines at Garys’ Vineyard, resulting in a wine of incredible concentration and freshness from the start. Bright, juicy flavors of black cherry, plum, and baking spice add impressive volume on the palate, while soft, supple tannin gives the wine a well-rounded structure. Lively acidity swirls amongst the fruit flavors, adding brightness that bursts from start to finish while hinting at a graceful, long life in bottle.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Rich, clean and powerfully mineral-driven on the nose, this single-vineyard expression shows black cherry, tangy raspberry, crushed slated and damp gravel on the nose. There is tremendous depth of flavor to the intensely elegant palate, where strong but perfectly ripe dark fruits are balanced by tightly woven tannins, fresh acidity and more rock and soil flavors.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This vineyard was planted in 1995 by Gary Franscioni and Gary Pisoni. Medium ruby-purple, the 2017 Pinot Noir Garys' Vineyard is shy on the nose at first, opening slowly to red fruit sparks over a core of dense black fruit with classic notes of tobacco leaf, cola, woodsmoke and violet hints. Medium to full-bodied, it's dense and concentrated in the mouth with tons of dark, savory fruits and floral notions. It has ripe, tight-grained tannins and wonderful freshness to energize the dense, layered finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Completely destemmed, the 2017 Pinot Noir Garys’ Vineyard has a beautiful fruit-forward character as well as notes of bright cherries, raspberries, flowers, and vanilla bean. It’s another medium to full-bodied, seamless wine in the lineup that has outstanding balance as well as length. Drink it any time over the coming 7-8 years.
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Wine Spectator
Rich and ripe, featuring concentrated dark plum, kirsch and mocha cream flavors, supported by medium-grained tannins and zesty acidity. Mexican chocolate and Asian spice notes flood the toasty finish. Drink now through 2024.
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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.