Leflaive and Morey alum’s definitive SLH rendition
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2021 Bernardus Winery Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands Monterey County 750 ml
- Curated by unrivaled experts
- Choose your delivery date
- Temperature controlled shipping options
- Get credited back if a wine fails to impress
Monterey County’s Master of Pinot Noir
The marine layer was parked, and it wasn’t going anywhere.
It was August of 2021, and while their colleagues 150 miles to the north were scrambling to begin picking grapes, growers in the windy Santa Lucia Highlands were embracing a long, cool growing season.
When the fog burned off in September and the fruit came in, winemakers like Bernardus’ Dean De Korth knew they had something special on their hands.
De Korth, who trained under Burgundy legends, crafts his Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot using absolutely TOP-NOTCH vineyard sources, like Tondré Grapefield, KW Ranch, Highlands, and two other legendary sites we’re not allowed to mention—mostly because they routinely sell for $50 to $75+ as single-vineyard wines.
Dean De Korth is a Monterey native who has worked with Burgundy legends like Leflaive, Lafon, and Morey. The shimmering 2021 Bernardus shows this expert pedigree in every sip. It’s beautifully ripe and intensely aromatic, with aromas of crushed black cherries and fresh strawberries that set the stage for a palate woven through with cocoa powder and vanilla, along with lush fruit, tilled earth, and baking spice. Satiny tannins add an air of sophistication to this rich, full-bodied style of Pinot Noir.
Aged only five months in used French oak, this wine is De Korth’s deliberate effort to showcase the exuberant, crystalline red fruit of the Santa Lucia Highlands. It’s the perfect example of why—over a decade after our first offering, with over 11,000 bottles sold of just this bottling alone—Bernardus remains a Wine Access favorite.