Winemaker Notes
Dark mountain berries and spice dominate this Pinot, with a stream of fine minerality snaking through. Wild, savory elements interplay with plump fruit flavors. A delicate, yet mysterious red that plays well with many cuisines.
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
Fresh yet structured, fruit-driven yet spicy, this is a wine to watch for a decade or so. Hearty boysenberry cream and classic French toast spices entertain the nose while the palate is framed by a hearty tannic backbone, hanging up the blueberry compote, clove and cardamom flavors.
-
Jeb Dunnuck
Lastly, the 2019 Pinot Noir Sierra Mar Vineyard has lots of black tea, dried herbs, and underbrush notes as well as a big core of darker fruits (blackberries, darker cherries), medium to full body, a round, expansive texture, integrated oak, and a savory, spicy finish. It's another brilliant Pinot Noir that will drink well for 7-8 years or more.
-
Wine Spectator
Minerally, elegant and well-structured, with notes of dried sage to the cherry tart and pomegranate flavors. Firm and savory on the moderately ripe finish. Drink now through 2024.
-
Connoisseurs' Guide
Fairly dense and a bit slower to open and give voice to its fruitier heart than Roar’s other 2019 Pinots, this extracted and slightly sinewy youngster sourced from one of its appellation’s highest vineyards is, for the nonce, a bit brooding and less revealing of any nuance or detail. Though inelegant at the moment, it has the substance, the structure and the fruity depth to encourage keeping, and, though it warrants a few more years of age than its same-vintage companions we are optimistic about its longer-term future.
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.