Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Rich and full-bodied, with a dense core of earthy blackberry, wild berry, currant, spice, loamy earth and cedary oak flavors. Drink now through 2025. 1,428 cases made.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Lastly the 1,200-case 2014 Lucienne Pinot Noir Smith Vineyard comes from a site located around the winery and is the highest elevation and most exposed vineyard they own. It also sees the least amount of fog cover due to its elevation. Offering a medium-bodied, charming, even sexy style, with perfumed notes of candied cherries, cola, dried herbs and assorted backing spices, it has a forward, approachable style, yet I suspect it will evolve nicely on its balance. Drink this outstanding Pinot Noir over the coming 5-6 years.
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.