Winemaker Notes
A classic example of Santa Lucia Highlands Pinots, this wine has rich berry flavors of cranberry and pomegranate along with a classic mineral undertone that runs through the palate and highlights the finish. It is balanced, beautiful and delicious from beginning to end.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Pinot Noir Mcintyre Vineyard was vinified with 20% whole clusters and matured for 10 months in 25% new French oak. It has a pale garnet color and scents of raspberry, red cherries, potpourri and dried earth, gaining more aromatic nuance as it spends time in the glass. The medium-bodied palate is bright and silky with sparks of fresh acidity highlighting its earthy fruits and a long, spicy finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
Dried cherry and toasty brown spices are wrapped in a sandalwood box on the nose of this bottling. The palate deftly integrates roasted plum, pine needle and vanilla spice into a cohesive, satisfying sip.
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.”
A geographic and climatic paradise for grape vines, Monterey is a part of the greater Central Coast AVA and contains within it five smaller sub-appellations, including Arroyo Seco, San Lucas, San Bernabe, Hames Valley and the famous Santa Lucia Highlands. The climate is relatively warm but tempered by cool, coastal winds, allowing the regions in Monterey County an exceptionally long growing season. Bud break often happens two weeks sooner and harvest tends to be two weeks later compared to other surrounding regions.
Monterey’s coastal side, where the cooling ocean fog allows grapes to develop a perfect sugar-acid balance, excels in the production of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling. Warmer, inland subzones are home to fleshy, concentrated and full-bodied reds like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Zinfandel.
Chardonnay, covering about 40% of vineyard acreage, is the most widely planted grape in all of Monterey County.