Winemaker Notes
Fruit-driven and wrapped in leather and sagebrush, this blend melds elements from all of our vineyards. This approachable Pinot integrates the best of north and south within the Santa Lucia Highlands.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Starting out the Pinot Noirs, the base appellation release comes from a mix of the single Vineyards, and it's been a rock-solid buy in every vintage I've been able to taste. The 2019 Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands offers a medium ruby hue to go with a spicy, savory, marine-influence bouquet with lots of pretty mulberry and cherry fruits as well as iron and spicy herbs. With good minerality, medium body, ripe yet firm, framing tannins, and a great finish, it's another no-brainer purchase that will evolve for 7-8 years.
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Wine Enthusiast
The appellation blend gives a great sense of what the Franscionis are accomplishing in their vineyards. Aromas of cola, cherry, raspberry, cigar box and rose petal on the nose lead into baked red currant and an herbal touch of anise on the layered palate.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
It may not come with single-site designation but that should in no way be seen as somehow signaling that this is a lesser wine as it possesses terrific fruity volume, definition and depth. It is slightly plush in texture yet displays excellent balance and fruity resiliency with fine-grained tannins for just the right bit of grip, and, while it is the one of its family we would reach for drinking first, it is a Pinot that will do nothing but get better with age. Four or five years of additional time on the cork should see it through to its peak, and, though not inexpensive, it is a seriously good effort that overachieves at the price.
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Wine Spectator
Big and open-textured, with hints of dried mint to the savory-inflected red fruit and spice flavors. Shows loamy accents on the ripe finish, with notes of cocoa powder. Drink now through 2023.
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.