Wow is this drinking well. Smooth finish throughout. All resolved. Nice cherry bite. Powdery coating feel. Lively fruit. Just lovely. It has years left in it. This stored at 53 degrees since inception.
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so many memories on this one and great expression of California pinot noir from the monterrey region. Last of 6 bottles (sic ..) smokey, full of black cherries and forest floor. Juicy yet complex and with very good length. Went super well with oven roasted ribs of Iberico pig from Extremadura. Will buy more next time I am on the West Coast, hard to find but really worth it
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Opened and poured a small taste for this initial impression. Graphite and pine aromas, with a creamy, red fruited texture that carries some new oak (or the imprint of wood) through to the finish. Where I really get attracted to this wine is the acidity, the pine needle and citrus that sits in the core of the wine to help buttress the fruit. Finishes with some crushed red fruit (like a strawberry/cranberry skin) and good lift. The temp on this taste was a little warm for me and so with air and some chill, will retry later this evening over dinner....the wine showed well with dinner, much like my note from October 2014. There is some mocha here still present, the ripeness emerged yet the spine of SLH acidity is nicely present. This wine feel pretty atypical for the vintage and does a fine job of staying true to the house style, with the flare of Pisoni. Fine to drink these now as I thought it showed well.
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This was a much more impressive Lucia than some of the other estates (S.L, Garys's, etc). Dark notes of Eucalyptus, pine, blueberry. Tannins are solid with some grip, medium-long finish. This almost felt like one of the Estate wines from Pisoni.
Just over a year since my last bottle. This wine really struck a chord with me in 2013, as I thought it was quite atypical of the criticism that has been lodged about the vintage. Opened this yesterday, retasting from what's left today. Man, is this wine dark and that color suggests the wine that follows. The amount of fruit in the aromatic and palate surprises me, feels more like a '12 than what I remembered about this wine, and seemingly unlike the '11 vintage. Flush with dark plum, dark cherry, pine needle and good acidity, which is what attracted me to this wine over a year ago. This won't be mistaken for a leaner, CA pinot and while I drink and buy mostly wines in this style now, I do still pursue darker, less feminine pinot when there is balance, depth and something thrilling in the glass. This wine here does those things for me, it's a wine I'd put another case of in my cellar without a doubt. Great stuff, a beauty again.
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Decanted 2 hours (helped open a bit). Deep garnet. Crushed berries and vanilla spice on nose. Medium plus fruit, mostly cherry with a creaminess that held its texture when met by balancing tannins and acidity. Was looking for a richer pinot to match with a grilled flat chicken and baked Brussels sprout (with aged Gouda/carmalized onions) and this was just perfect. Loved by all.
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The Wine Crew (FMIII in the OC): Blind. My WOTN for the Pinot flight. Dark ruby color, surprising as so many of the 2011 are leaning on the lighter side, not this one. Great nose, best by far, beautiful complexity of red fruit and light toasted oak. Palate shows medium acid, cranberry, cherry, and rounded tannins. Oak lingers in the background never drowning out the fruit. Medium plus finish.
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I'll expand this note later but I want to offer some thoughts with the wine open about an hour. The cherry in the core of this wine is so intense, really great depth. Pine needle aromatic, plum skin, strawberry. Drinking with an intensity that is really notable. I'm inserting this into a blind tasting a bit later so these are un-blind impressions on a wine that has really impressed me on two past occasions, once again today. Interested to see how it does with a few more hours of air, as well as the comments from those who get it blind. With more air and tasted blind during the event, it picked up some of the cranberry/pom acidity, along with a bit riper in tone, too. I still like this wine a lot, although next to say the 2011 Kutch Savoy, it's easier to see how the Lucia sits more in the forward end of the spectrum. Finished 3rd place of the 7 CA Pinots we tasted blind.
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Was this going to be as good as the last bottle, the one that offered me an "a ha" moment? We opened this one in the late afternoon to kick off the weekend and we drained it in less than an hour. Perfumey nose that shows some light oak, with a cool background accent of pinot funk, then blue and cherry fruit in the palate. As the wine breathed out--as if even fair to say with only an hour's air--the cherry brightens into the finish, which closes with a loamy note. Steve commented to me as we drank the wine together that this is great now, not for aging, and I would agree with that point. The cherry aspect adds lift, there is acid, and the balance to this is already nice, and I think in a year's time, maybe two, this is perfectly rounded out, but what's there now I really dig and I will pick up a few more of these to ensure I have several through that time to enjoy. Call 2011's vintage what you may, but this wine is strong and I love it.
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A marvelous addition to the Lucia line up. This is full of cherry, plum and raspberry, and cinnamon-brown sugar. Not sweet, and not over extracted. Plenty of fruit, with a firm backbone of tannin. A little cedar brush on the medium length finish.
Concur with Frank Murray III's conclusion that this is not "syrupy or hot. Just flat out delicious."
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Opened last night with XMAS dinner, where we enjoyed about 1/2 the bottle, and left the wine simply under cork until this afternoon. This reminds me of Pisoni Estate, which should not be all that unique since the wine was made by Jeff Pisoni and the vineyard belongs in part to them, too. Really beautiful aromatic, which I will say is without any alcohol or ripe intrusions--just full of berry fruit and brown spice, which then with air lends towards violets--just terrific to smell. On the palate, reminds me more of a Garys', with the pine needle, juicy blueberry, bit of plum skin and the signature citrus. Last night, I sensed the new oak in the form of some mocha and light vanilla but I don't get all that today, as it drinks pretty pure with the amount of slow ox it has seen. The finish today is really cool, kind of a loamy and blueberry note, with just a touch of the mocha from last night. In closing, I have stopped buying SLH pinot the past several years, save the Pisoni Estate that I have bought every year since 2003 (and the recent 2008 is a showcase pinot, for sure). However, this wine has got my attention and indeed, I'll order some of this when it is released and put some in my cellar, as this is terrific CA pinot. Full of flavor, without being dense, syrupy or hot. Just flat out delicious.
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10/19/2021 - Steve Brickley Likes this wine: 94 Points
Wow is this drinking well. Smooth finish throughout. All resolved. Nice cherry bite. Powdery coating feel. Lively fruit. Just lovely. It has years left in it. This stored at 53 degrees since inception.
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4/23/2017 - fedro Likes this wine: 92 Points
so many memories on this one and great expression of California pinot noir from the monterrey region. Last of 6 bottles (sic ..) smokey, full of black cherries and forest floor. Juicy yet complex and with very good length. Went super well with oven roasted ribs of Iberico pig from Extremadura. Will buy more next time I am on the West Coast, hard to find but really worth it
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3/26/2016 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Opened and poured a small taste for this initial impression. Graphite and pine aromas, with a creamy, red fruited texture that carries some new oak (or the imprint of wood) through to the finish. Where I really get attracted to this wine is the acidity, the pine needle and citrus that sits in the core of the wine to help buttress the fruit. Finishes with some crushed red fruit (like a strawberry/cranberry skin) and good lift. The temp on this taste was a little warm for me and so with air and some chill, will retry later this evening over dinner....the wine showed well with dinner, much like my note from October 2014. There is some mocha here still present, the ripeness emerged yet the spine of SLH acidity is nicely present. This wine feel pretty atypical for the vintage and does a fine job of staying true to the house style, with the flare of Pisoni. Fine to drink these now as I thought it showed well.
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2/7/2016 - napasoutherner Likes this wine: 93 Points
This was a much more impressive Lucia than some of the other estates (S.L, Garys's, etc). Dark notes of Eucalyptus, pine, blueberry. Tannins are solid with some grip, medium-long finish. This almost felt like one of the Estate wines from Pisoni.
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12/24/2015 - napasoutherner Likes this wine: 89 Points
nice, medium pinot.
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10/6/2015 - napasoutherner Likes this wine: 91 Points
Solid
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10/26/2014 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Just over a year since my last bottle. This wine really struck a chord with me in 2013, as I thought it was quite atypical of the criticism that has been lodged about the vintage. Opened this yesterday, retasting from what's left today. Man, is this wine dark and that color suggests the wine that follows. The amount of fruit in the aromatic and palate surprises me, feels more like a '12 than what I remembered about this wine, and seemingly unlike the '11 vintage. Flush with dark plum, dark cherry, pine needle and good acidity, which is what attracted me to this wine over a year ago. This won't be mistaken for a leaner, CA pinot and while I drink and buy mostly wines in this style now, I do still pursue darker, less feminine pinot when there is balance, depth and something thrilling in the glass. This wine here does those things for me, it's a wine I'd put another case of in my cellar without a doubt. Great stuff, a beauty again.
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1/11/2014 - thomaskeil wrote: 92 Points
Decanted 2 hours (helped open a bit). Deep garnet. Crushed berries and vanilla spice on nose. Medium plus fruit, mostly cherry with a creaminess that held its texture when met by balancing tannins and acidity. Was looking for a richer pinot to match with a grilled flat chicken and baked Brussels sprout (with aged Gouda/carmalized onions) and this was just perfect. Loved by all.
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9/2/2013 - brigcampbell Likes this wine: 93 Points
The Wine Crew (FMIII in the OC): Blind. My WOTN for the Pinot flight. Dark ruby color, surprising as so many of the 2011 are leaning on the lighter side, not this one. Great nose, best by far, beautiful complexity of red fruit and light toasted oak. Palate shows medium acid, cranberry, cherry, and rounded tannins. Oak lingers in the background never drowning out the fruit. Medium plus finish.
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8/31/2013 - Frank Murray III wrote:
I'll expand this note later but I want to offer some thoughts with the wine open about an hour. The cherry in the core of this wine is so intense, really great depth. Pine needle aromatic, plum skin, strawberry. Drinking with an intensity that is really notable. I'm inserting this into a blind tasting a bit later so these are un-blind impressions on a wine that has really impressed me on two past occasions, once again today. Interested to see how it does with a few more hours of air, as well as the comments from those who get it blind. With more air and tasted blind during the event, it picked up some of the cranberry/pom acidity, along with a bit riper in tone, too. I still like this wine a lot, although next to say the 2011 Kutch Savoy, it's easier to see how the Lucia sits more in the forward end of the spectrum. Finished 3rd place of the 7 CA Pinots we tasted blind.
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4/16/2013 - fine137 wrote: 90 Points
Not as good as I was expecting, but very well made. Darker fruit profile, I prefer brighter.
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4/6/2013 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Was this going to be as good as the last bottle, the one that offered me an "a ha" moment? We opened this one in the late afternoon to kick off the weekend and we drained it in less than an hour. Perfumey nose that shows some light oak, with a cool background accent of pinot funk, then blue and cherry fruit in the palate. As the wine breathed out--as if even fair to say with only an hour's air--the cherry brightens into the finish, which closes with a loamy note. Steve commented to me as we drank the wine together that this is great now, not for aging, and I would agree with that point. The cherry aspect adds lift, there is acid, and the balance to this is already nice, and I think in a year's time, maybe two, this is perfectly rounded out, but what's there now I really dig and I will pick up a few more of these to ensure I have several through that time to enjoy. Call 2011's vintage what you may, but this wine is strong and I love it.
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4/3/2013 - brianngibson wrote: 93 Points
A marvelous addition to the Lucia line up. This is full of cherry, plum and raspberry, and cinnamon-brown sugar. Not sweet, and not over extracted. Plenty of fruit, with a firm backbone of tannin. A little cedar brush on the medium length finish.
Concur with Frank Murray III's conclusion that this is not "syrupy or hot. Just flat out delicious."
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3/4/2013 - MattMauldin wrote: 91 Points
World Of Pinot Noir Grand Tasting- 3/2; 3/2/2013-3/4/2013 (Shell Beach, CA): Cherry and plum-driven profile with briary spice and black tea throughout. Round-ripe profile with full richness and fine tannin. Good balance overall. Medium finish.
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12/25/2012 - Frank Murray III Likes this wine:
Opened last night with XMAS dinner, where we enjoyed about 1/2 the bottle, and left the wine simply under cork until this afternoon. This reminds me of Pisoni Estate, which should not be all that unique since the wine was made by Jeff Pisoni and the vineyard belongs in part to them, too. Really beautiful aromatic, which I will say is without any alcohol or ripe intrusions--just full of berry fruit and brown spice, which then with air lends towards violets--just terrific to smell. On the palate, reminds me more of a Garys', with the pine needle, juicy blueberry, bit of plum skin and the signature citrus. Last night, I sensed the new oak in the form of some mocha and light vanilla but I don't get all that today, as it drinks pretty pure with the amount of slow ox it has seen. The finish today is really cool, kind of a loamy and blueberry note, with just a touch of the mocha from last night. In closing, I have stopped buying SLH pinot the past several years, save the Pisoni Estate that I have bought every year since 2003 (and the recent 2008 is a showcase pinot, for sure). However, this wine has got my attention and indeed, I'll order some of this when it is released and put some in my cellar, as this is terrific CA pinot. Full of flavor, without being dense, syrupy or hot. Just flat out delicious.
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