2013 Bernardus Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands 750 ml

Wine Advocate’s 94pt Bernardus Pisoni Vineyard Pinot Noir — DON’T Tell Your Friends!

Robert Parker called Pisoni Vineyard “the grand cru of the Santa Lucia Highlands.”  Since the early 1980s, some of the most lavish, flamboyant Pinot Noirs in California have been drawn from fruit harvested from this extraordinary vineyard, perched at 1300 feet in elevation above the Salinas Valley.

But as every superstar winemaker who was fortunate enough to purchase a few tons of 2013 Pisoni Pinot Noir knows,  this was a vintage like no other for Gary Pisoni. Berries were tiny, with high skin-to-juice ratios, loaded with sugar, yet braced with exquisite acid backbone.  The list of wineries that earned 93-96+ point scores from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate reads like a Who’s Who of California Pinot Noir.

Roar ($75/96+ pts), Pisoni Estate ($90/96+ pts) and Paul Lato ($100/95 pts) led the charge, followed by Kosta Brown ($145/94+ pts), Peter Michael ($95/94 pts), and Siduri ($60/93 pts).  As to Bernardus, in the opinion of WineAccess, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate AND Wine Enthusiast, winemaker Dean DeKooth crafted the most extravagant single vineyard Pinot Noir of his brilliant career.

Gary Pisoni’s parents, Eddie and Jane, began farming vegetables in the Salinas Valley in 1952. As soon as Gary graduated from college, he decided against returning to Salinas, and instead booked a one-way ticket to Paris. After landing in France, he headed straight to Dijon and tasted every red Burgundy he could get his hands on. Upon returning to the States, Gary was hopelessly afflicted with the wine bug. When he told his dad that he wanted to plant Pinot Noir on the family’s cattle ranch, Eddie was baffled, and raised multiple objections, not least of which was the cost of planting and managing a vineyard. But Gary was resolute, famously countering: “Have you ever been to a $250 lettuce tasting?”

The first planting on Pisoni Vineyard was less than 10 acres, perched 1,300 feet in elevation above the Salinas Valley on what is now the warmer southern tip of the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA. Initially, Gary was obliged to bring in water trucks to irrigate his young vines. Once a water source was located with the help of a “water witch,” Pisoni planted an additional 40 acres that he divided into several blocks ranging from one-half acre to 16 acres in size.

Thirty years later, in September 2013, Gary Pisoni’s ingenuity, vigilance and resolve was rewarded with the most miraculous growing season in the history of the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA.

The 2013 Bernardus Pinot Noir “Pisoni Vineyard” is brilliant dark ruby in color.  Luscious aromas of black currant, black raspberry, spice and violets.  Tremendously concentrated (finished alcohol came in at 14.9% alcohol without any sense of over-ripeness or Port-like overtones), filled with a copious mix of black raspberry, black cherry preserves and blood orange, despite the tremendous opulence of 2013, finishing with excellent tension and persistence.  Drink now-2022.

94 points from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.  94 more from Wine Enthusiast.  Soon to be released at $72 per bottle.  As a special ‘thank you' from the winery to WineAccess, 300 bottles have been set aside for our membership at a razor sharp $39/bottle. Shipping included on 4.