This Week's Must-Try Wines from Vinous
Lucia Vineyards (Pisoni)
Estate Cuvée Pinot Noir 2022
Fresh and buoyant, the 2022 Pinot Noir Estate Cuvée shoots a vibrant array of sweet cherry, black raspberry and clove from the glass. Neatly structured yet enthusiastic, the stem inclusion adds lift and spiciness but doesn’t distract. The 2022 finishes with a linear drive. I admire the concentration of fruit here. Vineyard sites are Pisoni, Garys’ and Soberanes—a blend that really works. (Billy Norris, Vinous, August 2024)
— 4 months ago
Clarice Wine Company
Rosella's Vineyard Pinot Noir 2019
The 2019 Pinot Noir Rosella’s Vineyard is dialed up to eleven on all fronts, but it’s a style that works so well. In fact, Adam Lee is particularly convincing in this vein. If you poured this for me blind, I would call it a baby—no more than a few years old. Loads of red fruit richness and concentration are the orders of the day, coursing through the mouth with copious amounts of sweet cherry, ripe strawberry, gravel, lavender and orange peel, framed by an array of tightly clenching tannins. This is such a forward style of wine for Clarice, but my goodness, it is attractive. Bravo. (Billy Norris, Vinous, August 2024)
— 4 months ago
Roar
Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay 2022
The 2022 Chardonnay (Santa Lucia Highlands) boasts terrific weight and concentration. Viscous and opulent, it possesses a lovely inner sweetness. Yellow apple, golden mango and hazelnut notes are neatly delineated and clear as day. The 2022 delivers a touch of oak spice on the long, tender, driven finish. It’s a big wine—I would prefer just a hair more energy, but it’s sure to be a crowd-pleaser for lovers of large-scale Chardonnay. (Billy Norris, Vinous, August 2024)
— 4 months ago
Clarice Wine Company
Gary's Vineyard Pinot Noir 2019
Harvested all at once from multiple blocks across this pedigreed site, the 2019 Pinot Noir Garys’ shows a clear juxtaposition of Old World and New World in the way it pits savory, earthy tones against lush SLH berry fruit. There’s such charm to its character. Black raspberry, marionberry, black olive, bitter cherry, thyme and lavender build intensity and depth with air, stacking consecutive layers on layers on layers. Believe it or not, I think this will continue to improve, as the tannins are not yet completely integrated. Either way, this is a beautiful effort from Adam Lee. (Billy Norris, Vinous, August 2024)
— 4 months ago
Clarice Wine Company
Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir 2018
The 2018 Pinot Noir (Santa Lucia Highlands) is fresh as a daisy, demonstrating how seamlessly the stems (78% in this case) and tannins integrate into Adam Lee’s wines over time. Lifted and expressive, this is such a polished package. It's a bit quiet on the nose, but there’s finesse and complexity to burn. Spiced macerated cherry, potpourri, incense and crushed rocks lead to a resolved, rounded finish. This is well executed and nowhere near peak. (Billy Norris, Vinous, August 2024)
— 4 months ago
Roar
Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir 2022
Medium in body, fresh and driven, the 2022 Pinot Noir (Santa Lucia Highlands) is pretty forward in its red-fruited profile, but it also possesses a core of stern, rocky minerality. An enticing air of highlands herbs and sweet lavender adds further intrigue. Juicy, sweet raspberry, clove and a kick of toasty French oak sweetness make the 2022 an inviting choice for drinking over the next several years. (Billy Norris, Vinous, August 2024)
— 4 months ago
Roar
Garys' Vineyard Pinot Noir 2022
Hailing from one of the premier sites in the Santa Lucia Highlands, planted in 1996, the 2022 Pinot Noir Garys' Vineyard is flat-out gorgeous. Beautifully rendered, it boasts generous fruit density, crystal-clear delineation of flavors and bracing structure. Fully destemmed, the 2022 finishes with a ton of persistence in its dark berry flavors, even darker cherry, black licorice and black sage. The 2022 leaves behind a fine web of powdery tannins, neatly wrapped up with a little bow on top, concentrated, effusive, and ready to rock. What a complete package. This may be the red wine of the vintage in the SLH. (Billy Norris, Vinous, August 2024)
— 4 months ago
Clarice Wine Company
Rosella's Vineyard Pinot Noir 2018
Harvested about a week later than the others in the 2018 lineup, the 2018 Pinot Noir Rosella’s Vineyard opens with generous red fruit, grilled herbs, iodine and a hint of iron. Resolved and settled in, the 80% new oak here is perfectly integrated, presenting only a touch of spicy grip on the finish. Very classy. (Billy Norris, Vinous, August 2024)
— 4 months ago
Delectable Wine
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The 2022 Chardonnay Sleepy Hollow Vineyard is a richer, more forward style of Chardonnay. A lovely hug of spicy French oak wraps around a sweet, ripe pear fruit core. Textural intensity is the order of the day—this wine spent much of its maturation period on the lees, which softened its edges in a really pleasant fashion. A forgivable tick of heat emerges on the finish, but this is attractive enough to look past that. (Billy Norris, Vinous, August 2024)
— 4 months ago