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.
2017 Lucia, Garys’ Vineyard Syrah Santa Lucia Highlands, California
the VINTAGE
Drizzly days, showery days, days of driving rain: after several years of drought conditions, the thirteen inches of moisture that soaked into the parched earth prior to the 2017 harvest provided an incredibly welcome start to the growing season. Although the total rainfall was only slightly higher than our annual average, it was more than two-and- a half times greater than the meager five inches we received during each of the two preceding years. The warm, wet winter offered a very healthy start to the grapevines, encouraging them to build strong canopies. Budbreak began the third week of March, and the increased growth that followed kept Mark and his team well-occupied shaping and managing the canopy throughout the spring to maintain excellent vine balance. Like the winter, the summer that followed was warmer than average. Nonetheless, the Santa Lucia Highlands experienced their typical coastal winds and cooling morning fog. The result was that the growing season progressed nicely with excellent phenological development of the vines. A record-level heat wave surprised us in essentially all regions of California at the beginning of September. The heat prompted us to begin the harvest in some of our blocks the first week of the month. We irrigated others to maintain and support the ripening grapes amid the heat; by October 6th, approximately a month after we began the harvest, we took in the last batch of fruit.
the VINEYARD
Garys’ Vineyard has been named “one of the most famous vineyards in California” by Lettie Teague in the Wall Street Journal. It is a joint venture between Gary Pisoni and Gary Franscioni, two native growers of the Santa Lucia Highlands. Pinot Noir and Syrah grapes have enjoyed long, slow growing seasons in this 50-acre parcel since 1997. The vineyard’s position on a sloping hillside in the center of the 16-mile long appellation offers a true representation of the Santa Lucia Highlands: alluvial soils with heavy fog and strong, cold winds in the summer.
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 with native yeast 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
With each swirl, waves of the 2017 Garys’ Vineyard Syrah coat the inside of the glass with an inky purple hue. A powerful bouquet of black peppercorn, sage, and cured meat waft from the glass as the wine exhales. With a sip, the wine’s complexity and depth of flavor envelopes the palate. Flavors of dark chocolate, spiced plum, and sandalwood create a unique language seamlessly intertwined with a dense, savory structure. Whole cluster fermentation and the 132-gallon puncheon barrel aging have created a wine that will offer great power and structure in its early years, while its youthful acidity and mouth coating tannin suggest this wine’s life will extend for many more to come.
| Cases Produced | 121 |
|---|---|
| Retail Price | $55 |
| Release Date | Summer 2019 |
| Winemaker | Jeff Pisoni |
| Barrel Aging | 15 months in 50% New Oak |
|---|---|
| Barrel Origin | 100% French Oak |
| Whole Cluster | 70% |
| Fermentation | 100% Native Yeast |
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