Winemaker Notes
Luli is a partnership between Master Sommelier Sara Floyd and the Pisoni Family - winegrowers from the Santa Lucia Highlands. The high-altitude Monte Linda Vineyard is located along the mountain ridges in the Santa Lucia Highlands appellation. Its unique character and extreme terrain deliver an intense and perfumed expression of Pinot Noir.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
A slightly smaller production release (94 cases), the 2021 Pinot Noir Monte Linda comes from a higher elevation vineyard in the southern end of the Santa Lucia Highlands. As with the other Pinot Noir releases here, it was destemmed and brought up in neutral barrels. It's a fresher, tighter, structured wine offering crunchy black cherry and darker strawberry fruit, some scorched earth, leather, and savory spice aromatics, medium body, ripe, building tannins, and outstanding length in its juicy, crisp finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
This rich and bold expression starts with dark plum and blackberry aromas that are lifted by cola, mint and anise scents on the nose. The palate is intense and dense with dark cherry, berry and more cola flavors, with chalky tannins to carry the finish.
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.