2021 Pisoni Vineyard Pinot Noir
94 points
Vinous
This justifiably famous site, long considered the best in the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA, produces wines that are enigmatically powerful, yet detailed, nuanced, and complex. With power to spare, this site tends to revel in opulent, large-scale versions of Pinot Noir. Tobacco leaf, black pepper, mint and crème de cassis—this Pinot Noir has it all. Big, bold and finely structured, the powerful palate offers full-throttled richness. Not for the faint of heart. The finish gives immense dark-fruited richness yet maintains an elegance which underlines its provenance as a great California vineyard.
2021 will be remembered as a challenging year, with record low rainfall producing smaller vine growth and very low yields of very small berries. 2021 is also a remarkably fine vintage with many wines performing near their best in quality. The young 2021 wines are showing great promise as intensely concentrated, complex wines, sure to give pleasurable drinking for years to come.
This famous vineyard is situated above the Salinas Valley near the town of Gonzales, in Monterey County. Perched on a sandy mesa, Pisoni is the benchmark for superlative Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands. Reflecting a perfect convergence of aspect, site and soil, it has consistently produced one of Patz & Hall’s most complex, extracted and amazingly intense wines.
10% whole cluster added
100% Burgundian French oak barrels (70% new; 30% 1-2-year old)
Bottled without filtration to preserve the wine’s aromas and flavors and enhance aging potential
This wine is Vegan
- Type:
- Red
- Varietal:
- Pinot Noir
- Region:
- California
- Appellation:
- Santa Lucia Highlands
- Vintage:
- 2021
- Blend:
- 100% Pinot Noir
- Alcohol:
- 14.5%
- Fermentation:
- Multi-yeast fermentations (native yeast, followed by cultured yeast); 100% Malo-lactic fermentation in barrel