Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
International Wine Cellar
Bright ruby-red. Explosively perfumed scents of black raspberry, potpourri, patchouli and Asian spices, with slow-building smokiness. Deeply pitched red and dark fruit flavors are seriously concentrated but surprisingly energetic, with strong minerality providing back-end lift and cut. The floral quality repeats on the broad, sweet, very long finish.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Before their Sonoma Coast vineyards came into production, Peter Michael was purchasing fruit from the famed Pisoni Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands and making a delicious Pinot Noir called Le Moulin Rouge. The 2008 Pinot Noir Le Moulin Rouge Pisoni Vineyard exhibits a dark ruby hue along with notes of black currants, raspberries and forest floor.
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.