Patz & Hall Pisoni Vineyard Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands 2021 750ml

The 2021 Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard is an ultra-ripe, characterful behemoth sizzling with macerated cherry, sweet pipe tobacco, toasted vanilla and sagebrush. Boisterous and brawny but neither heavy nor cloying, this wine has no qualms about strutting its stuff. Lively acidity is absolutely salivating, lending a cooling sensation to the undeniable pop of ethanol heat on the finish. Super-fine tannins knit it all together. The 2021’s balance is well calibrated, which is saying something considering how amplified all the elements are.

This is a very ripe but clean and enjoyable style of Pinot Noir from an iconic site, starting with aromas of black cherry and blueberry that stay fresh. The palate's cherry-cola core is lifted by mint, finishing on a vanilla ice cream kick.

James Hall met Gary Pisoni in 1998 and has sourced fruit from this site ever since, from the coveted “old field” and “Hermanos” blocks for the 2021 Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard. Always complex, highly extracted, and intense, it shares a wealth of signature cranberry, raspberry bramble, fig, and oak spice, with a slightness of tea leaf, finishing in finessed tannin. This should age well 2031-2036.

Matured in 70% new French oak, the 2021 Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard has layered, expressive scents of sour cherries, orange peel, fennel seed, underbrush and earth. The medium-bodied palate is concentrated and layered. It’s structured by abundant, grainy tannins and mouthwatering acidity, and it has a long finish with a flourish of spices. It opens dramatically with air and will benefit from 2-3 years in the cellar.