2020 Private Property Rose Santa Lucia Highlands 750 ml

We taste hundreds of rosés every year, and are as refreshing and attractive as this salmon-hued 2020 Private Property Rosé—at any price point. Made from some of the best Pinot Noir grapes in the Santa Lucia Highlands, it shows off hibiscus flower aromas with complex tones of fresh cut rhubarb and sage, putting the pristine cool-climate origins on proud display.  

As sophisticated as it is downright delicious, this bottle stands tall among the dry, mineral-driven Provence icons that put rosé on the fine dining map. One sip is enough to tell you why it would ordinarily be earmarked for placement on menus at Michelin-starred restaurants like Nomad, Pebble Beach, and SingleThread.

Yet thanks to good timing, our friend Scott granted unprecedented access to his racy, shimmering 2020 Private Property Rosé. And our price likely beats that of a mere glass on one those fabled menus.

Though the 2020 has yet to be reviewed, it’s as “fiercely mineral” as the last vintage was described by the Wine Enthusiast. Thanks to its chilly Santa Lucia Highlands terroir, this 100% Pinot Noir maintains a similar energy with its zippy palate full of crushed limestone. It conjures floral, herbal aromas and a bright acidity, carrying the elegant fruit flavors and mineral complexity that we love in Pinot rosés—bright red berries and white nectarine on a mouthwatering finish. 

Savvy Wine Access members have snapped up every wine we’ve offered from Scott, and this 2020 Rosé is just one more reason to keep our eyes on his Private Property label before the rest of the world gets wise. 

Scott represents the fourth generation of the Caraccioli family, who have been farming the Salinas Valley in Monterey County for decades. Private Property is Scott’s side hustle, and he’s got full access to his family’s famed estate vineyard. The result are wines that should cost at least twice what they do. 

This rosé comes from the family’s 124-acre estate Escolle Vineyard, a “painstakingly maintained and farmed” site that produces “extremely high-quality fruit,” as Vinous has written. Frigid blasts off the Pacific Ocean help cultivate the kind of acidity that’s proved perfect for the Caraccioli family’s eponymous sparkling wine label—and now, for Scott’s side project. 

Scott uses his family’s sparkling press for his Private Property Rosé. He told us it’s perfectly suited to the kind of light extraction he loves, preserving the Pinot’s freshness and clean expression. Especially in 2020, when vintage conditions enabled some of Escolle’s top Pinot grapes to wind up in this rosé.

A value take on one of the premier Pinot Noir estates in California, this 2020 rosé explodes with a chalky mineral signature and pedigree that defies its price.