2013 Prim Family Pinot Noir Apex Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands 750 ml

Pinot Noir Pinnacle from SLH Stars

As the Santa Lucia Highlands’ star has risen, rivaling the elite of Sonoma Coast and Russian River Valley, it’s gotten harder to find values among these fog-shrouded slopes. That’s what makes this under-$30 single-vineyard Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Mountain terraces such a thrilling find. Released in miniscule numbers by Wayne and Victoria Prim and legendary winemaker Rudy von Strasser, the “rich fruit meets hearty earth” bottling won 93 points from Wine Enthusiast. Prim’s 2014 SLH Pinot is already out on the market, retailing for $38. They set aside the 2013s for the library, but were willing to release one pallet of 56 cases to me as an irresistible introduction to Wine Access clients. Big, wonderfully rich, laced with cinnamon and spice from French oak barrels — to say that this Pinot overdelivers for its $29.99 price tag would be a vast understatement.

Apex Vineyard is owned by third-generation grower Ray Franscioni, who has supplied fruit to Pisoni and Calera. The elevation — 1,250 feet above sea level — and proximity to Monterey Bay invite a daily encroachment of fog punctured by bright sunshine and cold ocean breezes. In 2013, clusters ripened slowly in the well-draining soils, sugars climbing incrementally as acids remained firm, making for a wine of tremendous balance and complexity. This is as good as SLH Pinot ever gets for under $30 — don’t let it pass you by.

Rudy von Strasser’s talents earned him “Winery of the Year” honors from Wine & Spirits. He shares a passion for steep hillside vineyards with Wayne Prim; in 2013, they were treated to an absolute dream vintage in the Santa Lucia Highlands. Wine Spectator ranked it the best since the “almost perfect” 2009 crop, while Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate wondered whether the “2013s might just be the finest wines yet from this windy, cool, yet sunny region.”

Jonathan Cristaldi
Editor-in-Chief, Wine Access