Winemaker Notes
From the first pour to the last drop, the 2016 Luli Pinot Noir offers vibrant aromatics of fresh black cherry, ripe strawberry, and sous bois. Medium ruby in color, this wine showcases the rugged, foggy slopes of the Santa Lucia Highlands with its lively acidity and rich fl avors—of crushed plum and baking spice. The 2016 vintage yielded wines with seamless layers of texture and structure that come to life here with a voluminous blanket of soft, supple tannin. This wine’s story will continue to unfold as it opens up in the glass over a long dinner.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
My favorite of the three Pinot Noir releases is the 2016 Pinot Noir Monte Linda, which comes from granitic soils not far from the Pisoni Vineyard. It’s more fresh, vibrant, and focused than the Highlands Ranch release and has a taught, energetic feel in its Bing cherry, incense, and spring flower aromas and flavors. Drink this medium-bodied, beautifully balanced Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir anytime 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.