Santa Lucia Highlands: New Releases

BY JOSH RAYNOLDS | OCTOBER 12, 2016

Two thousand fourteen has provided fans of Santa Lucia Highlands wines with a bevy of rich yet energetic wines that showcase intense, highly perfumed fruit without excess weight. A picture-perfect growing season resulted in healthy small berries. The result was wines that lead with their fruit but also have the depth and structure to age.

Gary's Vineyard 

According to Siduri’s Adam Lee, who has been working with fruit from the Santa Lucia Highlands for 20 years, “2014 started out as a really solid vintage from early on, as the winter and spring weren’t too cold, and the fruit set really early and things got off to a fast start.” Yields were on the moderate to low side, historically speaking, and berries were small, which ensured concentration of flavor, deep color for the red wines, and a solid tannic backbone thanks to a high skin-to-juice ratio. The harvest was early as well, taking place under “just ideal conditions, no complaints at all,” according to Mark Pisoni, whose family is probably more tightly intertwined with the Santa Lucia Highlands than any other. Two thousand fourteen has turned out to be an excellent vintage for the region and the wines should enjoy a long, graceful evolution in the cellar.

I tasted some late-release 2013s this summer as well and, as they are the result of a growing season quite a bit like 2014, they’re showing energetic fruit as well, with harmonious tannins and the requisite concentration to age. The same can be said for 2012—and most previous vintages here as well, as the climate is remarkably consistent year to year. I should also note that, regardless of vintage, more and more producers here are making wines that lean toward vibrancy rather than brute force, which is a welcome development in my view. Yes, there’s serious flavor depth and intensity, but in recent vintages richness and weight have been toned down and the same goes for overt oakiness, which was a widespread issue in the not-too-distant past.