2013 Bernardus Pinot Noir Sierra Mar Santa Lucia Highlands 750 ml

“Pisoni Clone” Pinot Noir at Gary Franscioni’s Sierra Mar

The 44-acre Sierra Mar Vineyard, owned and farmed by world-class viticulturist Gary Franscioni, ekes out a small crop of the most sought-after Pinot Noir on the coast. Production is divided among a handful of superstar wineries, including Kosta Browne, ROAR, Bernardus, and Siduri.

In 2013, the second consecutive drought year on the coast, the Santa Lucia Highlands was rewarded by another copious crop of exceptional quality. While 2012 made for open-knit, more hedonistic Pinot Noir, 2013 may go down in the books as one of the greatest in recent memory, suggesting age-worthy reds with plenty of New World richness.

Winemaker Dean De Korth’s 2013 Bernardus Pinot Noir “Sierra Mar” is classically made, marked by the 2013 vintage with its remarkable density (without feeling weighty) and sheer intensity. Earning 93 points from Wine Enthusiast for its lavish wild-berry and herbal intensity and high-toned persistence. $55 on release. At just $29.99/bottle today, De Korth’s 2013 is the finest under-$30 Pinot Noir we’ve seen from the vintage on the Central Coast.

Read on to find out why.

Sierra Mar Vineyard is located on the southeastern slopes of the Santa Lucia Highlands, six miles south of the Garys’ Vineyard. The panoramic 44-acre site was originally part of a 420-acre cattle ranch that had been in the Vosti/Franscioni family for four generations. In 2007, driven by what Franscioni believed to be the site’s potential for high-altitude Pinot Noir growing, the family broke ground. Perched at just over 1,000 feet in elevation, remote and fairly inaccessible to all but the few head of longhorn cattle who called it home, Sierra Mar is the most “extreme” vineyard development project ever contemplated on the breezy slopes of Santa Lucia Highlands.

Franscioni chose two Pinot Noir clones for Sierra Mar, the celebrated “Pisoni Clone” and Dijon clone 828. Working closely with winemaker De Korth in the spectacular 2013 vintage on the coast, the vineyard crew hand-picked and hand-sorted grapes — first on the vine before picking, and then on the sorting table. De Korth took it from there, practicing non-interventionist cellar protocol, fully destemming clusters and then gently pumping them into small fermenters retaining a maximum of whole berries. Each vat was then inoculated with specially selected yeasts and hand-punched or pumped over twice daily through fermentation. Once primary fermentation was complete, De Korth gently pressed the solids into the free-run wine. Barrel aging was carried out in French oak (40% new), purchased from Burgundy’s finest artisan coopers: Sirugue, Damy, Billon, and Cadus.

The 2013 Bernardus Pinot Noir “Sierra Mar” showcases the extraordinary traits of the fruit coming off this California Grand Cru. Brilliant dark-ruby. A lavish mineral-accented bouquet of cinnamon, smoke, violets, dark fruits, and plenty of sweet spice. Velour-like in texture (a Pisoni clone signature trait), with an ultra-rich core of high-toned red fruits, black cherry jam, and rose petals, braced with vibrant coastal acidity and persistence. Drink now-2025.

93 points from Wine Enthusiast. $55 on release. $29.99 today — 45% off. 480 bottles are up for grabs.