2024 Roar, Pinot Noir, Garys’ Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands AVA, Monterey County.
The 2024 Garys’ Pinot from Roar immediately makes an impact with its depth, richness and structure, its is the most gripping of the lineup here and still very youthful in the glass with deep ruby/garnet color and firm dense palate of black cherry, wild, brambly, raspberry, plum and blood orange fruits, which turn seamless and generous with air, along with hints of vanilla, sassafras, spicy tea, delicate rose florals and warm wood toast. This might be a vintage to rest in the cellar, but clearly a elevated and delicious version of this now iconic Pinot Noir from the Francsioni family estate in the Santa Lucia Highlands.This wine saw a full de-stemming of the grapes and Roar’s 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, once fully open, a luxurious satiny texture and an opulent long finish. This is brilliant Pinot Noir and I look forward to seeing it with some extended age, may guess is, it will get better with5 to 10 years of cellaring, patience has its rewards!
The now famous Roar label, as noted here in my many 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, though I am always impressed by the Syrah, as I often note, here at Roar. With the popularity of the grapes from the Francsioni and Pisoni farming partnership, there is very little of the Roar stuff available and most goes quickly to their mailing list, so I highly recommend getting on that said list!
($70 Est.) 95+ Points, grapelive