With generations of farming history in Monterey County, and a commitment to making exceptional wines, The Pisoni Family hand-crafts the Lucia wines from the Pisoni, Garys’ and Soberanes Vineyards of the Santa Lucia Highlands.
2016 Lucia, Soberanes Vineyard Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands, California
the 2016 VINTAGE
After a difficult 2015 harvest and years of prolonged drought, the 2016 vintage saw beautiful weather conditions and a welcomed average yield of fruit. Rain returned to Monterey County in the beginning of the 2016 season (approximately 12 inches, the most our area has seen since 2011). Budbreak began the second week in March and vines showed more life and energy due to the early-season soil moisture. Strong vine growth required additional labor to tend to the shoots. Summer saw a balanced fruit set and weather conditions typical of the windy, fog-blanketed Santa Lucia Highlands. August temperatures were cooler than average which allowed for a slow, gentle ripening up to harvest. Patience was necessary for harvest—it began the first week of September and continued through the first week of October.
the Vineyard
The Soberanes Vineyard is the latest joint venture between the Pisoni and Franscioni families. Situated on the Santa Lucia Highlands bench adjacent to the Garys’ Vineyard and named “one of the appellation’s most esteemed properties” by the Wine Enthusiast, the site features tightly spaced vines and is planted to 33 acres of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah. The clonal material planted in the loamy, rocky soil is very diverse and features over a dozen of the most renowned heritage selections from California and Burgundy.
the WINEMAKING
The Pisoni Family is committed to raising and hand-crafting exceptional wines. The limited-production Lucia wines are created using classic, gentle and thoughtful winemaking techniques. Hand-picked and sorted grapes are fermented on native yeasts and aged in carefully selected French oak barrels. Our state-of-the-art winemaking facility uses gravity flow as part of a custom design conceived to merge the estate vineyards and winery. This affords us complete control of the farming and winemaking process, ensuring consistently superior quality.
TASTING NOTES
Fragrant, floral, and spicy: the aromas of this Soberanes Pinot Noir seem to leap from the glass. Dark red in color, the wine offers notes of rose petal and lavender as well as a seamless blend of graphite, cherry, blackberry and wild strawberry. All combine to give it a truly elegant nose. Minerality is evident in the crystalline purity and focus of the wine. Its rich palate is replete with soft, velvety tannins that conclude with a subtle, many-layered finish. Be sure to give this wine air; if cool, allow it to warm up a little so that the shift in temperature makes present the full range of its different aromas. We’re especially proud of the balance between the phenolic maturity of this wine’s tannins and its aromatic finesse. This wine will age wonderfully for a decade, but also drinks well now.
| Cases Produced | 450 |
|---|---|
| Release Date | Spring 2018 |
| Winemaker | Jeff Pisoni |
| Barrel Aging | 11 months & 33% New Oak |
|---|---|
| Barrel Origin | 100% French Oak |
| Whole Cluster | 0% |
| Fermentation | 100% Native Yeast |
The Cold California Coast: Where Fog and Pinot Noir Reside 
Jeb Dunnuck on the 2016 Vintage 
A Soberanes Vineyard Expression of Minerality