Winemaker Notes
Bold and dark in color for a Pinot, this wine has bright raspberry, cranberry, and red cherry aromas which intertwine on the nose, supported by light floral notes. The intense red fruit continues on the palate where they meet subtle black tea and oak flavors. Its rich, medium body is framed by soft tannins and lively acidity with the concentrated red fruit flavors lingering on the finish.
Pairings for this wine include chicken parmigiana and braised lamb shanks.
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
Deep, generous and layered, the 2022 Pinot Noir (Santa Lucia Highlands) is a large-scale wine with a deep well of rich mocha, black raspberry, crushed rocks and pomegranate-like tartness. The inclusion of 25% whole clusters lends an attractive spicy lift without any herbaceousness. There’s notable freshness here, providing a lovely counterpoint to the 2022’s weight and gravitas. Rombauer wines certainly carry with them an implication of a certain style, but alas, suspend your preconceived notions. This is a wine of finesse in this challenging vintage.
-
Wine Enthusiast
Clean and bold aromas of black cherry and toasty baking spices are comfortingly rich on the nose of this appellation cuvée. The black cherry core holds on the palate, where chai spice and potting soil earthiness add balance.
-
James Suckling
Powerful in flavor and rounded in texture, this full-bodied red packages an enormous level of black fruit flavors in a big, generous structure. Moderate tannins blanket the black cherries, blackberries, dried blueberries and pine accents, for a massive palate and a lingering finish.
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.