92 Points, James Suckling
Balanced, silky with focused acidity.
Drink now or cellar as many bottles as you can. You will be rewarded.
VINEYARDS
Located in the high stony slopes of the coastal side of the Santa Cruz Mountains in the heart of Bonny Doon. Attentively farmed by Jim Beauregard and his family, these are steep hillside vineyards that enjoy morning and evening fog from the San Francisco Bay.
VINTAGE NOTES
Starting with rain during bloom, 2019 transitioned into a steady, slow to warm spring. Temperate throughout the summer, offering only a couple intermittent heat spikes. Average yields and incredible quality with harvest beginning in early August.
WINEMAKING NOTES
Fermented separately in small open-top fermenters with gentle punch-downs. Maintained at moderate temperatures until dry, basket-pressed, and racked to 30% new, 45% once used French oak barrels for 12 months.
Vintage: 2019
Varietal Composition: 100% Pinot Noir
Vineyard: Coast Grade Vineyard
Appellation: Santa Cruz Mountains
Aging: 30% new, 45% once used French oak barrels for 12 months
Brix: 23.9
pH: 3.58
TA: 0.55 g/100ml
Alcohol: 13.6%
94 Points
Decadent, rich, and supple. Aromas of black cherry, dark chocolate, crushed stone, dried herbs, and cedar lead into layered notes of cassis, fennel, baked plums, mocha powder, and cigars dusted with roasted Herbs de Provence, earth and red volcanic mineral notes. Full-bodied and rich, with a firm spine of racy acidity and ultra-fine, gravelly tannins that carry the lasting, mouthwatering finish.
93 Points
Aromas of blackcurrant, dark plum, and cedar unfold alongside soft notes of vanilla and toasted oak. On the palate, structured tannins frame layers of black cherry, baking spice, and a subtle herbal lift from the Merlot blended beneath the Cabernet's backbone. Medium-bodied gem with good concentration finishing long and warm, with lingering impressions of cocoa and dried fig.
94 Points
A full-throttle, blackberry-driven red, laden with chalky minerality and layered with robust tannins. Violet scents mingle with fig and plum fruit in a medium- to full-bodied expression that hits all the right chords, delivering a pleasing one-two punch to the senses.
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