2017 Syrah Susan's Hill

The Santa Lucia Highlands and the Pisoni family are so deeply intertwined as to, in some ways, seem like a single entity. Indeed, the fame and reputation of this region, for many people, rests squarely on their shoulders. Pisoni Vineyard fruit has, for years, been used by many of California’s best Pinot Noir producers to make what are, in many cases, those winery’s top bottlings. Now, the Pisonis are slowly scaling back the amount of fruit they sell off in favor of their own estate wines, which are consistently among the best of the appellation. It’s been highly satisfying to watch the development of the Soberanes vineyard, which the Pisonis co-own with the Franscioni family, through the Pisoni and ROAR wines as well as those of other producers in the region who buy fruit from the site. Syrah, in particular, looks to have great potential in this rocky, 38-acre site. For now, only 3.5 acres are planted to the variety but I have my fingers crossed that there’ll soon be more.