We care for our Monterey County Pinot Noir a bit differently than our other Pinots in order to produce a wine that accentuates its fresh, fruity qualities. We divide these grapes into several fermentation tanks and ferment at cooler temperatures which helps protect their inherent fruity flavors.  We then age the wines in older, neutral French oak tanks and barrels, and bottle it earlier than our other Pinots so that the resulting wine expresses a fresh, fruity style from these specially selected vineyards.

Our 2021 Monterey Pinot Noir shows a bright, ruby red color. The gorgeous aromas exhibit spicy Boysenberry scents. The palate is soft and full, with intense dark berry flavors accented by cinnamon and clove spices. The finish has a wonderfully long, velvety texture.

This is truly one of the finest Monterey County Pinot Noirs!

At Bernardus, all our Pinot Noir grapes are hand-picked, block by block, according to ripeness levels, hand sorted and fermented in small batches using specially selected yeasts. Each fermenter is pumped over or punched down twice daily in order to optimize the extraction of flavor and structure.

Appellations:

77 % Arroyo Seco

23 % Santa Lucia Highlands

Cooperage:

Mix of older French barrels and our neutral, 32-year-old French oak tanks.

Bottled:

April 21^st & 22^nd, 2022.

1,468 12/pack cases of 750 ml bottles.