The Santa Lucia Highlands are known as one of the premier Pinot Noir appellations of the world. One reason for this lofty reputation is Rosella’s Vineyard. Gary Franscioni planted his home ranch, named for his lovely wife, in the heart of the Highlands. Gary’s home vineyard is planted with a selection of the best available Pinot Noir clones and farmed with unparalleled passion and attention to detail. We at Bernardus are fortunate to have access to three small blocks planted with clone 777, Pommard clone and the celebrated Pisoni clone.
Each block is monitored for ripeness individually in order to hand-pick each clone at its perfect ripeness level. The grapes are sorted at the winery and fermented in small individual fermenters using specially selected yeasts. Once fermentation and pressing are complete, each lot is aged separately for 10 months in the finest French oak barrels. Each barrel is evaluated individually and the final selection is made through a lengthy series of tasting trials. The final blend was bottled in August, 2010.
The 2009 vintage is showing beautifully, with bright fruit aromas and full, expressive flavors. Our 2009 Rosella’s Pinot Noir is a great example of this. In the glass the wine shows a classic deep ruby color. The exquisite aromas exude scents of ripe plum and red cherry accented with spices and notes of toasty oak. In the mouth the flavors are full and beautifully focused with a rich, silky texture and a long concentrated finish. This superb Pinot will age gracefully for several years to come.