Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
This new wine from David Phinney (creator of the famous/infamous brand, The Prisoner) was aged for nine months in oak barrels, 70% new. Pale to medium ruby-purple colored, the 2017 Pinot Noir Sleeping Hollow Vineyard soars out of the glass with intense notes of Bing cherries, fresh raspberries and cranberries with touches of Provence herbs, lavender and forest floor with a waft of roses. Full-bodied, the palate quivers with energy, delivering layers of red berries and fragrant herbs with a firm, grainy frame, finishing and savory. This one seems to need 2-3 years to really spring into action and should easily cellar for a good 10-12 years.
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Wine Spectator
Rich and toasty, with unctuous flavors of cherry tart, red currant and raspberry supported by fresh acidity. Light chocolate notes on the finish, which lingers with cooking spice accents. Drink now through 2024.
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.