Clarice 2022 Pinot Noir “Rosella’s Vineyard” Santa Lucia Highlands 96 Points

Jeb Dunnuck 96 Points: “The 2022 Pinot Noir Rosella’s Vineyard comes from a Grand Cru site in the heart of the Santa Lucia Highlands. It has a vivid bouquet of red and black raspberry fruits, black tea, spring flowers, and orange blossom that opens up nicely with time in the glass. This carries to a medium-bodied Pinot Noir with a seamless, layered texture, a beautiful sense of purity and precision, and a great finish. As with the appellation release, it will unquestionably offer pleasure in its youth, yet I suspect it will be even better with a year or two of bottle age.”

Winemaker Notes: “The 2022 vintage was a very unique vintage throughout California. In a separate, accompanying article, I discuss the rather extreme steps I took to guarantee the quality of this vintage. The Rosella’s Vineyard was picked on September 19, 2022—just 5 days after the Garys’ Vineyard. This is the closest these vineyards have picked to one another in Clarice’s history. As in previous years, I combined the Pisoni Selection and Pommard Clone sections together and fermented them in one tank. I upped the percentage of whole clusters in the fermentation only destemming 2 out of 11 bins in hopes of keeping freshness in the wine. The wine’s intense character was evident throughout the fermentation and as such it didn’t seem to need much of the support that oak provides. We discovered this in our blending efforts and ultimately settled on the final blend which utilizes 50% new French oak and 50% one-year-old barrels. The wine was bottled without fining or filtration to preserve its natural character.”