Santa Lucia Highlands: Back-to-Back Greatness in 2018 & 2019

BY JOSH RAYNOLDS | MAY 03, 2022

The brilliant 2018 vintage in the Santa Lucia Highlands was a tough act to follow, but 2019 is proving to be more than up to the challenge. This is a year where the wines are marked by strong flavor intensity, but with no excess weight. Finely etched, precise fruit is a hallmark, while the wines should age gracefully on their balance and well-integrated tannins. The 2019s can be drunk young or cellared; either way, they are going to deliver a lot of pleasure throughout their lives.

The new Vineyards of the Santa Lucia Highlands map by Antonio Galloni and Alessandro Masnaghetti, shown below, illustrates how compact the AVA actually is when compared to other world-class wine-growing regions. It also shows just how close to the vineyards lie to the Pacific Ocean and illustrates the profound influence of this proximity.

The Santa Lucia Highlands is home to a number of superb vineyards that benefit from their proximity to the ocean, as highlighted in the latest Vinous map, The Vineyards of the Santa Lucia Highlands by Antonio Galloni and Alessandro Masnaghetti, © 2022.

The 2019 Growing Season and Wines

The 2019 vintage in the Santa Lucia Highlands and greater Monterey County started off with healthy winter rains that built up ground water to slightly above normal levels. That was followed by a cooler than normal late winter and spring, which led to a delayed budbreak. These conditions were quite positive, given the vagaries and volatility of weather these days. Just ask Willamette Valley producers, who were hit with frost in the third week of April 2022 that wiped out at least half of this year's crop and as much as the entire crop in many areas.