Vinous Reviews the 2016 Vintage

Vinous Media Review from Josh Raynolds

We are pleased to announce that our 2016 wines have received high regards from Josh Raynolds at Vinous Media LLC. Mr. Raynolds stopped in to visit our Sonoma County winery and vineyards in Monterey County this past summer.  In “New Releases from Santa Lucia Highlands & Neighbors,” Mr. Raynolds calls our 2016 Pisoni Estate Pinot Noir “superb”, and praises the Pisoni family’s “grape growing excellence.” The report sings additional praise for eight of our other 2016 releases. We are honored to receive these distinguished reviews.

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Lurid ruby-red. Heady oak-tinged cherry and Chambord aromas are complemented by vibrant floral Asian spice and smoky mineral nuances. Juicy and sharply delineated on the palate offering concentrated red berry liqueur and rose pastille flavors that deepen steadily with air. Fine-grained tannins lend gentle grip to the finish which hangs on with superb clarity and floral-tinged persistence.



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Chardonnay


(62% Pisoni fruit and 38% Soberanes) Light bright yellow. Ripe orange, pear, honeydew melon and vanilla aromas are sharpened by a smoky mineral flourish and a hint of ginger. Gently sweet and expansive on the palate, offering juicy citrus and orchard fruit flavors plus fennel and buttered toast nuances. Clings with strong, spicy persistence on the finish and leaves a suave brioche note behind.


Bright straw-yellow. A highly complex, mineral-accented bouquet evokes fresh citrus and orchard fruits, toasted brioche and white flowers, and a hint of oyster shell emerges with air. Shows excellent depth and delineation, offering vibrant tangerine, pear, sweet butter and anise flavors that firm up slowly on the back half. Powerful yet graceful in character, displaying superb detail and thrust on a strikingly long finish that features lingering floral and mineral notes.


Pinot Noir


Lurid ruby-red. A lively, highly fragrant nose displays fresh red berry, rose and Asian spice scents, along with a hint of woodsmoke. Sweet and expansive on the palate, offering sappy raspberry and cherry cola flavors and a building spicecake nuance. In a seamless, fruit-forward style, showing impressive lift and supple, rounded tannins that frame the impressively long finish.


Brilliant ruby-red. Highly perfumed mineral-accented red and dark berry cola and incense aromas show a sexy floral overtone. Sappy seamless and penetrating on the palate offering intense black raspberry cherry cola and allspice flavors that deepen slowly on the back half. Plays power off finesse with a sure hand and finishes impressively long and sweet with harmonious tannins coming in slowly.


Limpid ruby-red. An exotically perfumed bouquet evokes ripe red and blue fruits, incense, vanilla and licorice, and a smoky nuance builds in the glass. Sweet and penetrating on the palate, offering intense black raspberry, boysenberry, spicecake and floral pastille flavors and a touch of cola. Lingers with impressive tenacity on a long, smooth finish that emphatically repeats the floral and dark berry notes.


Syrah


Bright violet. A hugely perfumed bouquet evokes ripe black and blue fruits, olive paste, smoky bacon and pungent flowers, and a bright mineral flourish adds vivacity. Stains the palate with sweet blueberry, cassis and violet pastille flavors braced by a spine of juicy acidity. Shows outstanding clarity and spicy thrust on the youthfully tannic, impressively long finish, which leaves a sappy dark berry note behind.


Inky purple. Expansive black and blue fruit aromas are complicated by peppery spice olive paste and mineral nuances. Juicy broad and sweet on the palate showing energetic lift to the concentrated blueberry violet pastille cola and fruitcake flavors which show excellent clarity and spicy lift. Picks up a smoky quality with air and finishes sweet silky and impressively long; discreet tannins add shape and gentle grip.


Youthful purple. Mineral- and spice-accented aromas of blackberry cherry liqueur licorice and vanilla along with an exotic floral nuance that builds as the wine opens up. At once weighty and lively offering densely packed black and blue fruit flavors and hints of candied flowers smoky minerals and star anise. Smoothly blends power and energy and finishes sweet and extremely long with repeating spiciness and smooth harmonious tannins. In the context of high-end Syrah from anywhere this wine delivers superb value.


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