2024 Roar, Pinot Noir, Rosella’s Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands AVA, Monterey County.
The deeply alluring 2024 Roar Rosella’s estate Pinot Noir is even better than the awesome 2023 version and looks set to be classic for this highly acclaimed and sought after winery in the Santa Lucia Highlands and one of the region’s most famous vineyards with its dark ruby/garnet color inviting you in and a complex palate of concentrated black cherry, plum, earthy red berry and blood orange fruits being pure seduction. There’s a wonderful balance of density and freshness in this young Pinot and there’s a well judged amount of toasty French oak that perfectly frames this medium bodied effort, along with a subtle floral perfume, some hints of truffle, cinnamon, vanilla, bergamot and tea spices. Already a fabulous wine, this 2024 vintage looks set to age nicely as well, look for another joyous 10 to 15 years easy here, it’s one of my favorite Roar offerings to date! The Rosella’s Vineyard, named for owner Gary Franscioni’s wife, was planted at the family home back in 1996 and is set on Arroyo Seco sandy loam soils on a slope above River Road between 180 and 430 feet above sea level in the heart of the Santa Lucia Highlands. The 2024 vintage of Rosella’s is an upcoming fall release, with just under 500 cases made and saw mostly all full de-stemming and traditional winemaking practices with gentle handling of the grapes and manual punch downs with a cool maceration and primary fermentation. After that the wine was aged, as per normal here for close to 10 months in Burgundy style barriques with amount 60% new oak employed, resulting in a a silken texture and an opulent long finish.
Roar, as noted here in my prior reviews, was founded by the Francsioni family and one of the famous Garys, Gary Francsioni, after the release of their 2000 vintage, and who are best known for Pinot Noir, though also do a fine selection of Chardonnay snd Rhônes, including Syrah, Viognier and even a micro batch of Grenache. The Roar winery, with Gary and sons Adam and Nick, say the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA, in Monterey County, benefits from a rare combination of abundant sunshine and a powerful cooling influence from the Monterey Bay’s deep submarine canyon, which holds a tremendous amount of cold water. The daily afternoon winds, reaching up to 25 mph, hence the name Roar, slow down ripening, enhance phenolic development, and create wines with exceptional depth, balance, and aging potential, as I’ve witnessed over the years. Winemaker Scott Shapley has done a fantastic job here over the last decade and this latest set continues his successful run at Roar, with these 2024s being equal to his best to date, especially the Pinots, like this exceptional Rosella’s. I’ve been following Roar since the first vintage and I’m always thrilled when I get a chance to try the new wines here, which I was able to do with Gary, Nick and Scott just before the Santa Lucia Highlands Sun, Windy & Wine tasting event on may 2nd of 2026. The set I tried included this Fall release of Rosella’s, plus the Sierra Mar 2024 Syrah, the lovely Soberanes Pinot Noir and the stylish Santa Lucia Highlands cuvée Chardonnay, which again showed off tons of personality and charm. The Roar wines are delicious and certainly give everything you’d expect from the region’s terroir, making them prizes for the enthusiasts of the area’s wines, they often sell out on the mailing even before the release date, so I suggest getting on the mailing list at Roar.
($70 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive