Winemaker Notes
Dark red hue. Scents of ripe cherry, boysenberry, pomegranate, blackberry, anise, and cola start off this complex Pinot Noir. With time in glass, notes of cola, vanilla, and orange sorbet make for a unique and pleasurable experience. With density, lushness, and concentration, this Pinot Noir pleases.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2022 Pinot Noir Garys' Vineyard explodes with a cascade of spiced cherry and orange peel. Broad and ample, it soaks every corner of the mouth in rich, juicy red fruit. Crushed rocks and gravelly minerality add tension as a lick of sea salt flutters down the mid-palate on the finish. The Garys’ is dynamic and long in 2022.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Savory red and black fruit, iron, spicy herbs, and candied violet notes all emerge from the 2022 Pinot Noir Garys' Vineyard, a concentrated, medium to full-bodied, round, mouth-filling beauty with ripe tannins and a solid spine of acidity. It's beautifully balanced and will shine through 2032.
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Wine Enthusiast
Quite dark in the glass, this potent bottling starts with dark cherry and boysenberry aromas on the nose. A chalky texture enraptures the palate, framing beet, plum, star anise and French toast spice flavors. The texture and acidity push into the finish.
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James Suckling
So lush, ripe and mouth-filling, this wine is 100% Pisoni clone, full-bodied, moderately tannic, with plump strawberry, rich raspberry and sweet cherry flavors, nicely accented by cinnamon, clove and vanilla bean notes from 65% new French barrels. Sustainable.
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Wine Spectator
This throws out some slightly rambunctious notes of steeped cherry and boysenberry compote, backing them up with juicy red licorice and sweet spice hints on the open, generous finish. Drink now through 2028.
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.