Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Wine of the Week: Pisoni Estate 2007 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir



This week I'm writing about an exceptional bottle of Central Coast wine: the 2007 Pisoni Estate 2007 Pinot Noir!

Now, some of you Central Coast fans may have come across the name Pisoni on your tasting travels because most of their exclusively pinot noir grapes are sold to other winemakers, who then make their own Pisoni single vineyard pinots (like my winemaker friend, Bill Cates of Tantara - did I mention that I love his Pisoni?). The Pisoni family began growing grapes in 1982, but it wasn't until 1998 that they started retaining a small percentage of their grapes to make their own estate bottling. I should also mention that the Pisoni family is committed to using sustainable practices in their vineyard, so that it may be shared with future generations.

Given the quality of their grapes, it wasn't a huge shock to learn that their most recent effort had garnered high praise and high scores from many of the top wine critics (Robert Parker gave it a whopping high 96 and dubbed it "an exceptional effort").  We ordered a few bottles when our offering came and stowed them in our cellar, finally opening one for a dinner party we threw last weekend for some wine-loving friends.

Holy Cow! 

I know that's not exactly refined language, but seriously, this wine sang from the glass beginning with the very first taste.  It's the kind of wine you take one sip and go, "Yum!" even if you're not a connoisseur.  This is a huge, rich, full-bodied wine, but even with all its incredible raspberry fruit, somehow it doesn't go overboard, and the flavors remain pure and strong.  The nose is also intensely aromatic and complex, and while it tastes nothing like a Burgundy, the nose reminds me of some of the best from that region.

This is easily one of my favorite wines I've tasted this year, and wow, I've had some great ones!  I highly recommend checking out Pisoni and getting on their mailing list.  They're a great operation and worth knowing about!

Pricing:

Upon release, this wine was priced around $60/bottle, a little pricier than some of the wines I've written up recently, but worth every penny!  My first recommendation is always to get on the mailing list first, which you can do via their website, so you can get access to these wines on release at the best prices. It's sold out at most wine retailers and prices have gone up, but I did manage to find one retailer who's selling it for a mere $65/bottle!  They have limited quality, so act fast! 

CLICK HERE IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN BUYING THIS WINE!

Winery Information:

Pisoni Vineyards & Winery
P.O. Box 908
Gonzales, CA 93926
(800) 270-2525

CLICK HERE TO VISIT THEIR WEBSITE!

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