Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Light cranberry and pomegranate show on the nose of this always-anticipated bottling by Dan Lee, with a pine-needle aroma to provide depth. The slightly sour flavor of Montmorency cherries mixes with snappy cranberry and underripe red currants on the sip, which gains herbal and peppery spice complexity as it breathes.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Pinot Noir Double L Vineyard sports a pale to medium ruby-purple color and is scented of Bing cherries, fresh raspberries and wild strawberries with hints of sautéed herbs and underbrush. Medium-bodied, it has a chewy frame and lovely freshness with plenty of expressive/earthy fruit, finishing with an herbal lift.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
Showing excellent substance and range of nuances, the full-flavored 2015 Morgan Double L Vineyard Pinot Noir is more than the sum of its parts. This wine, loaded with ripe fruit, savory spices, dried earth, and much more, seems endless in its expressing the many facets of Pinot Noir. (Tasted: May 9, 2017, 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.