Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine by Adam Lee shows concentrated touches of nutmeg, crushed pepper and dried thyme laid across a base of hearty blackberries, with dried leaves on the nose. There is a strong herbal component to the sip, with eucalyptus oil and black-pepper dust spicing up the hearty beet juice and black-fruit core. A strong menthol lift arises on the finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Showing a more savory edge, with lots of dried herbs, leather, autumn leaves and assorted red fruit characteristics, the 2014 Pinot Noir Garys' Vineyard is medium-bodied, nicely texture and has fine tannin that emerge on the finish. Despite the savory aromatic slant, it's sweetly fruited and balanced on the palate. I suspect it will show nicely on release.Range: 90-92
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Wine Spectator
Plump and sumptuous, with a rich core of plum, cherry, blackberry and licorice flavors, retaining juiciness and firming on the finish, where gravel and oak elements add backbone and dimension.
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.