2008 Silacci Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands

Hooray for a new pinot in the lineup! I have always heard great things about the Santa Lucia Highlands region and loved the characteristics of the pinots made from there. So i decided it was time to try some for myself. This ranch is located in an area thick with morning fog, but blessed by the (not too intense) afternoon sun. There are many different sections planted to various clones all showing their unique colors. The block I was lucky enough to pick from is planted to the famed Pisoni clone. All I have to say to that is YUM!

The nice thing about this ranch is that it ripens later than most pinots. Meaning first of all, I had time to pick all my Carneros fruit AND get them into barrel before this batch came in. And secondly, it gets more hang time so the grapes tend to develop more slowly and evenly. I drove down the night before and stayed in the great big barn on the property where the grower had lit a beautiful fire for me. At day break the action began. We picked just over 1 ton of the delicious fruit before the sun had fully broken through the fog- such a fun time!

Once the refrigerated truck delivered the grapes to me at the winery, I went to work. Same protocol as most of my pinots. Hand sorting, cold soaking, natural fermentation with multiple hand punch downs per day, and then a gentle pressing at dryness. I used about 40% new oak on this lot because the fruit was so rich and ripe and intense. In barrel, the secondary fermentation happened without any issues and the wine rested there quietly and undisturbed until bottling. No fining, no filtering- au naturel.

On the nose I get big ripe blackberries and plums with a hint of clove and black cherry. The palate pretty much follows through with the fruit and has this juiciness that bounces off the acid and oak. You know, it's probably best if you drink some and see for yourself!

62 cases (750 ml bottles) produced