Winemaker Notes
Pair with smoked pork shoulder with roasted brussel sprouts.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
There are elegant aromas of potpourri, purple flowers, rose hips, fennel, wild mint, blackberries and plums on the nose of this top-end bottling from the Hahn family. Hearty black plum and elderberry mix with black sage and bay leaf on the palate, where a chalky texture and soft mouthfeel complete the experience.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Produced primarily from Calera and Pommard clones, the light to medium ruby-purple colored 2015 Lucienne Pinot Noir Smith Vineyard has fragrant notes of Bing cherries, pomegranate and cranberries with hints of lavender, dried herbs and forest floor. Medium-bodied, fined-boned and with a great intensity of red berry and earthy layers, it finishes long with some mineral nuances coming through.
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.