De Tierra Silacci Vineyard Pinot Noir-From The Monterey AVA

…I found this bottle of ‘05 all by itself in the Pinot Noir section at Mission Wines in South Pasadena.  It was the last one, and it was only in my possession for about twenty minutes before its contents were in my glass…

There was a time in my younger days when I mistakenly believed that all Central California Pinot Noirs were from the same place, more or less.  I assumed that Santa Maria Valley, Santa Lucia Highlands and Santa Rita Hills were all sort of in the general vicinity of Santa Barbara.  Ahhh…. youth.

While Santa Barbara County is indeed home to the Santa Maria Valley and Santa Rita Hills AVAs, the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA is further North in Monterey County, and within the larger Monterey AVA.  All of these AVAs are within the massive Central Coast AVA.  And while each of the aforementioned regions produce noteworthy Pinot Noir, there are wide differences in character and style.

The Santa Barbara regions are often affected by fog, but usually get good and hot come the end of summer.  The resulting grapes tend to be sweet and spicy.  Further North in Monterey County, the constant coastal breeze makes for a cooler crop with thick skins and heavy, often earthier flavors.  A lot of California Pinot producers like to blend grapes from the two counties to produce blends (some even adding grapes from the Sonoma Coast or Russian River Valley in Northern California).  Personally, I get a kick out of sampling pinots from the various regions and comparing and contrasting.  Obviously there are factors other than climate (like the winemaker) that shape the final wine, but there’s no question that the terroir of each region imparts its unique influence on the wines

Which brings me back to the ‘05 De Tierra.  The Silacci vineyard is in the Monterey AVA, in the northern-most edge of the Santa Lucia Highlands mountains, just a tad North of the Santa Lucia Highland AVA’s northern border.  According to the winery, “the Silacci is the northern most Pinot Noir vineyard in Monterey and yields the more elegant and old world style of cool climate Pinot Noir.”

Elegant; if I had only one word to describe this wine, that’s the word I’d use.  Fortunately for both you and I, I can use as many words as I like.  (Ok, it may or may not be fortunate for you, but you can skip the words and just look at the pictures if you like.  I’ll never know.)

The wine has a beautiful color; deep garnet with a noticeable intensity.  A few swirls and I got a whiff of ripe red berried and a touch of red rose petals.  One sip and I knew I was in for a fantastic bottle:  the raspberry/cherry fruit was intense, yet somehow balanced by subtle earthy notes and a lush mouthfeel.  Such a substantial tasting experience, yet a real easy drinker; worth every penny at $29.99.

After researching a bit online, I’ve found a few more producers that source grapes from the same vineyard, including Ryan Cellars, Rustique, Miura Vineyards and Alcina Cellars.

After finishing the last drop and before shutting my laptop for the night, I jotted down two ideas that I wanted to pass on for future tasting experiments.  1) Pick up 4 of the aforementioned pinots that are all sourced from the same vines and taste the differences that each winemaker infuses into the wine.  2) Find a producer that makes pinot from several of the Monterey AVA vineyards, or even better, from a couple of the Monterey AVA vineyards and a vineyard or two from some of the other nearby AVAs (Santa Lucia Highlands for example), to see how each of the wines differs.

Until next time…  Cheers!