Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
I was blown away by the 2013 Pinot Noir Garys' Vineyard. It's a gorgeously complete, balanced and still structured 2013 that offers rocking notes of cassis, black cherry, crushed rock and forest floor to go with a medium to full-bodied, textured and concentrated feel on the palate. Easily one of the riper, larger framed and powerful wines in the lineup, it nevertheless has the fruit to drink nicely today. It should be at its best from 2017-2023.
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Wine Enthusiast
Winemaker Adam Lee goes big on this bottling from the vineyard planted by the two Garys (Pisoni and Franscioni), showing bacon fat, blackberries and graphite on the nose. Once sipped, it veers more tart, with cranberry and just-ripe raspberry picking up some complexity from thyme herbs.
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Wine Spectator
Firm and rich, focused on a tight core of licorice-laced blackberry, cedar, anise and savory herb flavors, this turns tamer toward the finish, finishing with a full-bodied aftertaste. Drink now through 2022.
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.