2019 Sierra Mar Pinot Noir

 Sierra Mar is a superb vineyard planted by the renowned grower Gary Franscioni on a dramatic hilltop location at the southern end of the Santa Lucia Highlands. We at Bernardus are honored to be among the few to receive both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from this SLH super star.

 We have chosen two from among the several clones of Pinot Noir planted here: the celebrated Pisoni clone and Dijon clone 828. At Bernardus, we use only hand-picked and hand-sorted grapes for our wines.

 All our Pinots are destemmed and fermented with whole berries so that the fruit flavors can shine without herbal notes from stems and leaves. Each vat is inoculated with a specially selected yeast and hand punched or pumped over twice daily throughout fermentation. After a gentle pressing, the wine is pumped to barrels and aged for 10 months before the final blend is made for bottling.

 Our 2019 Sierra Mar Vineyard Pinot Noir exhibits aromas of ripe red berries accented with hints of spice. The palate is silky and elegant with flavors of red cherries and berries.

Picking date: September 24th, 2019.

Appellation: Sierra Mar Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands. 100% Pinot Noir.

Cooperage: 100% French: Sirugue and Billon, about 40% new.

Bottling:

September 11th & 12th, 2020.

687 - 6/packs (750 mls.)