Wines

96 Points! From one of the warmer sites in the appellation, the 2023 Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard is big in style, tannin, and dark berry flavor yet well-balanced, a showcase of intensely rich, layered fruit that is accented in sage, spice, and dried herb. Winemaker Sean Capiaux has worked with Pisoni since 1998, and as such is one of the longest-standing purchasers of that fruit, and his understanding of the site is in clear view here. This will be a long-lived wine; enjoy best 2028-2038. - Virginie Boone, jebdunnuck.com

94 Points! A dense and old-school pinot noir, as it should be, with dried strawberries, cedar and spice as well as hints of chocolate. Full and layered. Solid tannins. - JamesSuckling.com

96+ Points! I loved the 2019 Pinot Noir Garys' Vineyard. It's a rich, backward, relatively closed wine that's going to blossom with another 2-3 years of bottle age. Giving up Gevrey-Chambertin like notes of smoked black fruits, pomegranate, violets, spiced meats, iron, and leafy herbs, it's medium to full-bodied and has a beautiful mid-palate, building tannins, and a solid spine of acidity. It has plenty of ripeness and is certainly a California Pinot Noir, with beautiful fruit and purity. It needs a healthy decant if drinking any time soon, and it's going to hit prime time in another 2-4 years and have a solid decade of prime drinking. It's a gorgeous wine. - Jeb Dunnuck

93 Points! Another impressive and overperforming Dunites release is the 2024 Dune Song, a blend of 62% Syrah and 38% Grenache from Hi Kite and Rancho Arroyo Grande, respectively. A classic and lovely bouquet of black fruit, purple flowers and crushed stones introduces a palate that melds spongy density with tensile focus, culminating in a soaring, mouthwatering finish laced with streaks of minerality and spice-driven nuances. This is a uniquely refined and alluring expression of the San Luis Obispo Coast, to be enjoyed through its first decade. - Matthew Luczy, robertparker.com

97 Points! Another fantastic partnership between winemaker and site, the 2023 Chardonnay Escolle Vineyard exudes the coolness of the place and year, tasting of wet stone and tense acidity. Barrel-fermented in puncheon just under a year, with another six months in stainless, it’s delightfully floral, structured, and graceful, ready to go another 10-12 years in bottle. - Virginie Boone, jebdunnuck.com

92 Points! Stainless-fermented with several hours of skin contact, the 2024 Sauvignon Blanc Paysan Zabala Vineyard is made from some traditional clones and some Musque clone. Light-bodied, it is a sublimely textured, herbaceous, and pretty wine with breadth and depth. Drink now. - Virginie Boone, jebdunnuck.com

94 Points! Coming from the Pisoni and Soberanes vineyards, the 2023 Chardonnay Estate Cuvée reveals classic aromas of buttered apple, spice, and sappy, floral, and honeyed, nutty nuances. Medium-bodied and round on the palate, it has a layered mouthfeel, integrated acidity, and a clean, lengthy finish. Drink over the coming 4-6 years. - Jeb Dunnuck

92 Points! The 2023 Chardonnay (Santa Lucia Highlands) is notable for its juxtaposition of inner sweetness, lemon-like sourness and tongue-tingling minerality. It's all Wente clone from 40-year-old vines, so there's a mass of complexity and expressiveness afoot. Native-fermented in neutral barrel, the 2023 is cool-toned, with toasted almond, peppermint and apricot nuances coursing through its veins. A dusting of sweet spice seasons the finish. Nicely proportioned through and through, the 2023 delivers quite a lot for wine the price. - Billy Norris, Vinous Media

90 Points! Sourced from the producer's certified-organic Double L estate as well as McIntyre, Tondre, and other sites, the 2023 Chardonnay Highland gathers the grapes and barrel-ferments in 25% new French oak, making an approachable white that can be enjoyed in its youth. Medium-bodied layers of green apple and Meyer lemon flavors are accented in woody undertones and baking spice, finishing in a richness of crème brûlée. Drink now. - Virginie Boone, jebdunnuck.com

95 Points! The cool climate of the vineyard really shines bright in the light-bodied, nuanced 2023 Chardonnay Escolle Vineyard, which offers lengthy, crisp, and subtle characteristics of gravel, green apple, and a hint of citrus and spice. Structured to age another 10 years, it captures the power and intensity of the appellation from a perspective of equal finesse. - Virginie Boone, jebdunnuck.com

From the winery: The fruit for this Gamay was harvested from several vineyards surrounding our winery in the Arroyo Seco AVA. This AVA is recognized as having the longest growing season in California. Strong daily winds that bring cool fog from the Monterey Bay allow the grapes to spend more time on the vine building flavor, complexity and acidity. Extremely rocky well-drained alluvial soils are the base for creating wines processing freshness & minerality. The combination of sand, granite, and shale loam soils with the ever present marine influence provide the perfect conditions for growing Gamay. 100% whole cluster using ambient yeast and native malolactic aged in 100% nuetral french oak puncheons, bottled unfined and unfiltered, 12.1% ABV.

94 Points! This appellation cuvée is a winner, beginning with aromas of black cherry, black raspberry, loamy soil and minty pine on the nose. The palate is tense in texture, as sticky, even waxy tannins frame flavors of ripe cherry and forest herb. - Wine Enthusiast

95 Points! The 2021 Syrah Estate has a medium ruby color and smoky, flinty tones that give way to cranberries, blackberries, juniper, resinous herbs and cured meats. The medium-bodied palate is chalky and very fresh with a core of savory fruit, generous meaty and flinty nuances and a long, savory finish. - Erin Brooks, robertparker.com

For fans of the fruit-forward, richly-appointed style of the Chardonnays from Robert Talbott! Less oak here, but all the joy. A couple select sites throughout Monterey County. 2021 was a pretty normal year down there. Regardless of where you are the wind and mild, steady coastal temps make for wonderfully balanced Chardonnay. Harvest September 4th-17th. 20% new French oak aging.

Windstream Pinot Noir is sourced from the Sarmento Vineyard in Monterey County’s Santa Lucia Highlands appellation. With close proximity to the Pacific Ocean; the region’s foggy mornings melt into sunny days with cool, late afternoon breezes, a climate that allows grapes to ripen fully while retaining natural acidity. 

Fermented in 100% new French barrels, this wine is filled with concentrated flavors of black cherry, raspberry and dark plum. Barrel aging provides notes of cedar and brown spice with hints of vanilla.

94 Points! The 2021 Pinot Noir San Saba Vineyard is striking.  Bright, aromatic and full of punch, the 2021 delivers tons of savory flavor intensity in its deceptively mid-weight frame. Crushed red cherry fruit, rose petals, mint, chalk and white pepper abound. This layered, delineated Pinot hits all the right notes. Impressive. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

94 Points! Sour cherry, oregano, marjoram and bay leaf aromas make for an engaging nose of fruit and herb on this bottling from a vineyard just below the Santa Lucia Highlands. The palate snaps with strawberry and raspberry flavors that are cut by the eucalyptus leaf and wild sagebrush impacts. - Matt Kettmann, Wine Enthusiast