Winemaker Notes
The 2022 Twelve Clones has the power, balance, and finesse typical of Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir. Notes of cherry cola, dried herbs, and leather are joined by mild tannins and elegant acid. Wonderfully balanced with a long finish, it aims to please any Pinot Noir lover.
Food accompaniments include lamb, grilled line-caught salmon, BBQ chicken, and duck confit.
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
As promised by the name, 12 unique clones are used to produce this stunner. Powerful notes of black plum stand out amid anise, dried lavender, cola, and espresso. Armed with a luxurious concentration of dark blue color and fruit, this Pinot also possesses a delicate soul.
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Wine Enthusiast
Focused and well integrated aromas of dark plum, raspberry, scarletred rose and all of the baking spices make for a very elegant and appealing nose on this bottling. Baked boysenberry and Luxardo cherry flavors are cut by creamy chai spices on the palate.
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James Suckling
Pure aromas of red currants, dark cherries and spices. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins and bright acidity, giving notes of wild strawberries, blackberry bush and cedar. Nicely constructed, with a savory undertone.
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Vinous
The 2022 Pinot Noir Twelve Clones is so easy to like. Soft in texture and finessed, notes of rose petals, cranberry and black tea unfold in the glass. Notably light on its feet compared to the majority of Pinots in the appellation, the Twelve Clones is charming in its less imposing style. Attractive blood-orange tones highlight the finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Pinot Noir Twelve Clones opens with soft, red-fruited aromas accented by licorice and dried tobacco flourishes. The palate is svelte and silky, concluding with a composed, balanced and slightly drying finish—an attractive, energetic and respectable overview of the Santa Lucia Highlands.
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.