Today’s Matias Wines 2014 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir is the wine critics darling. This silky, delicious Pinot has earned three 90+ point ratings, from the likes of Chris Sawyer (93pts.), Wine Enthusiast (92pts) and Galloni (90pts).

We absolutely adore this wonderful wine!

What an incredible nose on this Pinot Noir! Aromas of Bing cherry, baked apple, cranberry, wild mushroom, hibiscus flower, cherry cola, subtle spice, subtle gunpowder, and subtle slate mineral.

As the nose portends, this wine is delicious, with flavors of Bing cherry juice, hibiscus tea, soft spice, wild mushroom, raspberry, white blueberry, cloudberry, summer forest and a hint of chocolate.

About the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA:

The Santa Lucia Highlands AVA (American Viticultural Area) is located in Monterey County, California. It is part of the broader Monterey AVA which is one of California’s finest. This important sub-AVA is located in the Santa Lucia Mountains above the Salinas Valley, which is one of California’s premier agricultural areas.

Over 2,300 acres (931 ha) of vineyards are planted in the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA, with vineyards that rest at elevations as high as 1,200 feet above sea level. About half of the grapes planted here are Pinot Noir. The region enjoys cool morning fog and breezes from Monterey Bay followed by warm afternoons, thanks to direct southern exposures to the sun.

This wine is Highly Recommended.

.

Here’s what the wine press has to say:

93 points - Chris Sawyer “Sommelier to the Stars” - “Long before Pinot Noir became such a big trend, wine pioneers were planting this noble grape variety on the ominous hillsides of the Santa Lucia Highlands in Monterey County in the 1970s.

One of the elegant new expressions of this great American benchmark is the Matias 2014 Pinot Noir, an expressive wine with fragrant aromas of wild berries, mint, lavender, tobacco, and pretty earth tones. Medium to full-bodied with lavish flavors of wild strawberry, plum, hibiscus and cinnamon spices; on the palate, the wine continues to open up with an admirable balance of lively fruit flavors, bright acidity, structure, and a long graceful finish. Soft, silky, and rewarding!

For delicious food pairings, serve this lovely wine with soft cheeses, prosciutto and fig, a fresh spinach salad with strawberries, grilled vegetables, gourmet pizzas, risotto with wild mushrooms, grilled fish, delicate sushi, and pork medallions with tangy red fruit compote.”

~

92 points - Mat Kettman, Wine Enthusiast - “Dark and concentrated pomegranate and rosebud aromas meet with juniper and sweet pine needle on the nose of this bottling. The attack is a clean and flavorful, mixing dried cranberry and tangy cherry with thyme, marjoram and peppercorn, culminating in a camphor-like finish.”

~

90 points - Antonio Galloni, Vinous

~

Jeb Dunnuck, Wine Advocate - “Leading off the reds, the appellation 2014 Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands comes from the Soberanes and Sierra Mar vineyards and was brought up in 40% new French oak. This is a pretty, elegant and finesse-driven Pinot Noir that has classic notes of strawberries, flowers and spice as well as medium-bodied richness, a silky texture and a clean, classy finish. There were 600 cases made and it’s a rock solid example of the high quality Pinot Noirs coming from the Santa Lucia Highlands.”