High Highs: Santa
Lucia Highlands 2023BY BILLY NORRIS | JULY 3, 2025&nbsp;The story in the Santa Lucia Highlands (SLH) is one echoed
up and down California in 2023. Following a punishing hodgepodge of vintages
marked by wildfires, severe drought, extreme heat and painfully low yields,
Mother Nature loosened her grip and allowed winemakers to breathe a collective
sigh of relief. The struggles of the recent past faded away as a long, cool,
even-tempered growing season settled in. No skyrocketing ripeness. No fear of
smoke taint. No shoot-from-the-hip pick calls or all-hands-on-deck harvests. No
pitiful yields. Just clement weather and nothing but time to make the best
decisions possible in the vineyard and the winery. For winemakers in the SLH
and its environs, the sky was the limit in 2023. But it wasn’t quite that
simple. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1751382069463-Pinot+Noir+vines+at+Morgan%E2%80%99s+Double+L+Vineyard_Vinous.JPG">Pinot Noir vines at Morgan’s
Double L Vineyard.The narrow, 18-mile-long stretch of vineyards to the south
of Monterey Bay that makes up the Santa Lucia Highlands experienced an unusual
amount of rainfall to begin the 2023 growing season, as did much of the rest of
Monterey County. The typically dry SLH saw rainfall accumulations upwards of
40% above average. That glut of rain replenished the depleted groundwater
reserves and delayed the entire vine growth cycle by several weeks. After six
to eight years (depending on who you ask) of sustained drought conditions, the
surfeit of rain primed vines to set a prolific amount of fruit and grow large
canopies. Eventual yields in 2023 clocked in around 20-25% above the SLH’s
historical average, which was especially welcome after the paltry 2022 harvest
(down about 50% across the region).Summer temperatures were on the cool and steady side, which
limited the typically beneficial diurnal shifts and drew out the ripening
process. Harvests commenced across the region in late September. Sabrine Rodems, of Wrath,&nbsp;mused, “We were a full month later in 2023 than 2022.” Scott Caraccioli,
of Caraccioli Cellars, shared the same experience at their estate vineyard,
adding, “The 2023 harvest was the latest ever at Escolle. Ever.” The majority
of operations picked Pinot Noir and Chardonnay all the way through mid-October,
in many cases several weeks later than in 2022. Syrah harvests pushed
into November, helped along at the finish line by a slight warm-up in
temperatures.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1751382131250-Franscioni+Pisoni_Vinous.jpg">From
left to right, Adam Franscioni, Gary Franscioni and Mark Pisoni in the rows at
Soberanes Vineyard.Following numerous years of unpredictable challenges, it’s
not uncommon for growers and producers to adopt a sort of “self-protection”
mentality—a “fear of the unknown” echoed by more than a few winemakers I met
with for this report. Winemaker Jeff Pisoni, of Pisoni Estate, stated simply, “You
never know when the other shoe is going to drop.” Conservative practices in the
vineyard become second nature, so when you get a heavy crop load, instinct
tells you to preserve as much fruit as possible as a buffer. The
SLH is a region with a rich history of agriculture and traditional farming, and
that classic farmer’s mindset permeates the ethos here, in good times and bad. Pisoni
(whose family still operates a full-scale agriculture operation in the adjacent
Salinas Valley) elaborated, “Coming off so many difficult vintages, you’re
inclined to leave as much fruit hanging as you can, just in case things go
wrong. That’s a classic farming principle. We’ve seen it forever with
vegetables. You just don’t want to end up with nothing.”<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1751387492951-Valley+Floor.JPG">Looking
northwest from the row-crop-dominated floor of the Salinas Valley, with SLH
vineyards rising up the mountainside in the distance. A considerable downside of retaining such a large crop,
however, can be dilution in the resulting wines. Augment a sizable haul of clusters
with generous, healthy canopies that shade the berries from the sun, and your
efforts to preserve a plentiful harvest can actually be a recipe for
excessively light wines that lack concentration. In a vintage like 2023,
winemakers had to confidently drop fruit and extensively remove leaves from the
canopies in order to ensure adequate development. Those who did just that
reaped substantial rewards and crafted some of the best wines to ever come out
of the SLH.The WinesThe inherent risk of a cool growing season with very late
harvests is that fruit hanging on the vine might never make it all the way to
full sugar ripeness and/or phenolic ripeness. That can manifest in the form of wines
with angular contours, light bodies and insufficient fruit density to compensate
for those deficiencies. For Pinot Noir—arguably the SLH’s flagship variety—there’s
no missing the fact that the 2023s are lighter across the board. This is
especially obvious when juxtaposed against the riper, darker, unashamedly more forward
2022s. In a number of cases, that lightness deprives the 2023 Pinots of some of
the structural gravitas that is such a regional signature, almost as if the
volume knob has been turned down. The cool 2023 season also ushered in a return
of the SLH’s hallmark bright, juicy acidity that was also generally absent in
2022. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1751387513949-Caraccioli.JPG">Scott
Caraccioli presented an excellent lineup of 2023s, including his new
value-oriented Private Property label. Aside from the lifted, slightly ethereal 2023 Pinot Noirs in
the middle of the pack, there sits a tranche of world-class, elite wines that reach
new heights. Proactive farming was a fundamental part of the equation, meaning
that winemakers who weren’t placated by the “easy” season and who didn’t rest
on their laurels were able to coax an extra measure of depth and power from their
fruit. Marry that with the lighter overall style of the year, and you end up
with some absolutely magical wines that exhibit the platonic ideal of concentration
without excess weight.The 2023 Clarice Wine Co. Pinot Noir Garys’ Vineyard
bears special mention, as it epitomizes the path to greatness in 2023. I
consider it to be the wine of the vintage. Clarice’s Adam Lee is always active
in the vineyard and adaptive in the winery, in this vintage settling on a final
blend that included a higher proportion of new oak, which in turn compensated
for the wine’s slightly lighter build and lent the Garys’ an incredible
seamlessness. All three 2023 Clarice bottlings are excellent, impressively
finessed wines that readers should make a point of seeking out. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1751387530662-Clarice.jpeg">The
2023 Clarice Wine Co. Pinot Noir Garys’ Vineyard is the wine of the vintage in
the SLH.Additionally, the muscular but elegant 2023 Pisoni Estate
Pinot Noir, impeccably balanced 2023 Caraccioli Cellars Pinot Noir (as
well as Caraccioli’s 2023 Passetoutgrain, which is 50% Pinot Noir and
50% Gamay) and the lush but lithe 2023 Wrath Pinot Noir 115/667 all rest
atop the heap of pure, persistent, precise Pinot Noirs that belong in the
conversation with best of the best.Chardonnay is once again hit or miss in 2023. I chalk that
up to two things: 1) There’s not a truly well-defined “SLH style” of
Chardonnay, but the closest approximation would be a richer, rounder
interpretation of the variety that the 2023 vintage just didn’t have in the
cards, and 2) Chardonnay typically struggles to convey true site character
here, so the wines can come across as somewhat anonymous. Aside from a couple
of major outliers and overperformers, the 2023 Chardonnays wear the lighter vintage
character on their sleeves. These are softer-textured, quieter, more
mineral-driven wines that offer good upfront appeal but are generally near-term
propositions. <img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1751387555860-Bibbiana+Cellar.jpg">Bibiana
González Rave turned out two gorgeous, stratospheric Syrahs for her project,
Cattleya Wines. And then there’s Syrah. I will beat this drum every year. I
will shout it from the mountaintops. Syrah is the true rockstar of the SLH. Stunningly
expressive and absolutely singular, Syrah responds beautifully to the
conditions in the region, even in the most challenging years. Given the
supremely long hangtime in 2023 and the extra push of warm temperatures right
before a November harvest, several of the 2023 Syrahs I tasted for this report
touched the stars. Cattleya Wines’ two 2023 Syrahs, The Reward (from
Soberanes Vineyard) and The Initiation (from Pisoni Vineyard), are
showstoppers—powerful, graceful and intense yet supremely finessed. The 2023
ROAR Syrah Sierra Mar Vineyard is gorgeous as well, and the 2023 Lucia
by Pisoni Syrah Susan’s Hill, tasted from barrel, could very well be a
legend in the making. Most notably, the 2023 Syrahs balance their typical
brooding intensity with tannins that are already supremely well integrated.
These are exciting wines that I’d be thrilled to own.This report also includes wines from neighboring appellations
in Monterey County, such as Chalone, Carmel Valley and Arroyo Grande, as well
as some wines from Sonoma, where many of the region’s winemakers call home.

















































































I tasted the wines for this report in late
spring and early summer 2025 in a series of tastings in the Santa Lucia
Highlands, Sonoma County and my office in Florida.&nbsp;© 2025, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or re-distributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright, but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.<hr> You Might Also Enjoy<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/santa-lucia-highlands-steely-and-steadfast-in-2022-aug-2024">Santa Lucia Highlands: Steely and Steadfast in 2022</a>, Billy Norris, August 2024<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/santa-lucia-highlands-cool-climate-excellence-in-2021-nov-2023">Santa Lucia Highlands: Cool-Climate Excellence in 2021</a>, Antonio Galloni, November 2023 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/santa-lucia-highlands-back-to-back-greatness-in-2018-2019-may-2022">Santa Lucia Highlands: Back-to-Back Greatness in 2018 &amp; 2019</a>, Josh Raynolds, May 2022 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/vinous-santa-lucia-highlands-map-behind-the-scenes-jan-2021">Vinous Santa Lucia Highlands Map: Behind the Scenes</a>, Antonio Galloni, January 2021 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/2018-santa-lucia-highlands-what-a-difference-a-year-makes-oct-2020">2018 Santa Lucia Highlands: What a Difference a Year Makes</a>, Josh Raynolds, October 2020

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