Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Connoisseurs' Guide
Testarossa’s Niclaire bottling earns its spurs for its marvelous marriage of refinement and fruity precision, but the 2017 Pisoni Pinot Noir shares top honors by dint of its show-stopping concentration and depth. It is a dense, very fullscaled effort of uncompromising richness that holds nothing back and boasts an absolute wealth of authoritative cherry and plum fruit that never relents. Although it is a wine of considerable staying power and unquestionable future promise, it, too, is so out-and-out delicious that a good deal of self-discipline will be required in setting it aside for the five or six years of cellaring that it commends.
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.