Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
This appellation blend is better than the winery's single-vineyard expressions, at least right now. On the nose, loads of chaparral spice play against the cranberry, mulberry and roasted tomato backdrop, enhanced with a touch of shiitake mushroom. The palate packs strong sagebrush and eucalyptus flavors with salted plum fruits.
-
Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noirs keep on coming, and the 2016 Mansfield-Dunne is at the top of the class. TASTING NOTES: This wine is packed with black fruit aromas and flavors. A hint dried herbs and earth suggest a pairing with grilled lamb chops. (Tasted: September 10, 2018, San Francisco, CA)
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.