2022 Pisoni Estate, Pinot Noir, Pisoni Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands.
The Santa Lucia Highlands owe much to the pioneering spirit of the Pisoni family and this Pisoni Estate Pinot Noir is maybe the region’s best and most coveted wine, with this latest deep garnet/ruby 2022 vintage showcasing this terroir to near perfection and very much in keeping with the winery’s style, delivering an extra dimension of fruit density and texture, but still being beautifully balanced and wonderfully complex. The rich and luxurious palate revolves around a core of classic black raspberry, dark cherry, plum, blood orange and Mission fig fruits that are nicely accented by smoky oak, wilted roses, a hint of violets sultry earth, briar and brambly spices, as well as sage, cola bean, lavender and vanilla. The vintage provided excellent depth of fruit, silky tannins and great aromatics, all the while retaining acidity that gives an inner brightness and lift here, making this opulent Pinot Noir a standout. Winemaker Jeff Pisoni says the Pisoni Pinot Noir was all hand-picked from various blocks on different soils, including sand, loam, granite, marine sediments and bits of quartz, seeing careful sorting, a cold soak and a native yeast fermentation with partial whole cluster. After which, he adds, this wine is aged in barrel, racked with gravity flow into selected French oak with a high percentage of new wood, without racking or moving for 10 months. Bottling is then carried out carefully after final blending to tank, and as always, the Pisoni Pinot is unfined and unfiltered.
It was great to meet up recently with Jeff Pisoni, one of the most talented winemakers of his generation and taste his signature Pisoni Estate Pinot Noir, originally made famous by his father Gary, one of the greats of California, who created this iconic Pinot Noir, who’s passion for wine and the region led him to start planting grapes here back in 1982. Much has already been written about his achievements, his stories, like his bringing of La Tâche cuttings home in his socks to plant here. The Pisoni label was founded in 1998 and that first release set new standards for Santa Lucia Highlands wines and the latest release continues enjoy its place in the elite league of California Pinots. Gary’s enthusiasm lights up a room, you can’t help but to love the man, for his style and humble grace wrapped up in an extroverted personality, much like the Pisoni Estate wines taste! I will forever be a huge fan of Gary for all he’s done for Monterey wines and the next generation here at Pisoni very much pay tribute to him and are striving to be better and better each year. There’s a deep collection of quality offerings here with the Pisoni family, with these Pisoni Estate offerings being the pinnacle of their efforts, but not far behind are their Lucia Vineyards wines, including the Garys’ Vineyard Pinot Noir, Soberanes Vineyard Syrah and the Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay, all of which I highly recommend, plus the related, Lucy Wines, with the Rosé and Gamay being fun and delicious. The 2021 and 2022 vintages, currently out there, prove the Pisoni’s can handle very different vintage conditions and produce outstanding wines, don’t miss them.
($85 Est.) 97 Points, grapelive