2021 Doctor’s Vineyard Pinot Noir
Santa Lucia Highlands AVA
“The 2021 Pinot Noir Doctor’s Vineyard is one of this range’s more forward, fruit-driven wines. At the same time, bright acids and veins of tannin cut through, lending notable precision and tension throughout. Medium in body, the Doctor’s is wonderfully nuanced from start to finish. Sweet dark cherry, mocha, spice and a kiss of new oak linger. This site, planted with ten clones of Pinot at elevation, yields a wine of real character.”
Antonio Galloni
Vinous
November 2023
Production Data
Growers: Hahn Family
Winemaker: Bill Brosseau
Appellation: Santa Lucia Highlands AVA
Elevation/Exposure: 350 – 540 feet; Southeast
Soil: Mostly Chualar Series loam with Placentia & Arroyo Seco sandy loams
Vineyard Age: 30 years
Viticulture Practice: Sustainable (SIP Certified) / 50% of our blocks farmed organic
Vinification: Destemmed, fermented in stainless steel
Cooperage & Ageing: 19 months in 100% French oak, 58% new
Production: 28 barrels
Composition: 100% Pinot Noir
Acidity: 3.28 pH, 8.06 TA (g/L)
Alcohol: 14.3%
Harvest: September 30th, 2021, hand harvested
Club Release: November 2023
Release Price: $78
Drink Now through 2030
Past Vintage Wine Scores
“Glistening ruby-red. Incisive, intensely perfumed Chambord, blood orange, boysenberry, exotic spice and cola scents show superb clarity and mineral lift. Sappy and energetic on the palate, offering sweet red and blue fruit preserve, spicecake and candied lavender flavors that deftly blend power and delicacy. Closes extremely long and silky, with reverberating spice and floral notes and polished tannins adding subtle grip. 54% new French oak.”
Josh Raynolds
Antonio Galloni’s Vinous
May 2022
“Pomegranate, hibiscus, light bay leaf and dried sage show on the nose of this bottling from a vineyard located toward the southern end of the appellation. There’s ample tension to the sip, giving depth to the dark-plum, crushed pomegranate and light pepper-spice flavors.”
Matt Kettmann
Wine Enthusiast
December 2021
“Focused and linear compared to the Garys’-grown wine. Fruit and acid rise to the top of the mouth while mocha-kissed pomegranate-rhubarb jam spreads across the palate.”
Meridith May
The SOMM Journal
May/June 2021
“Shimmering magenta. Fragrant red and blue fruit, potpourri, incense and vanilla scents are complemented by hints of cola and baking spices. Alluringly sweet and penetrating on the palate, offering spice-laced cherry cola, raspberry and floral pastille flavors and an undercurrent of smoky minerality. Fine-grained tannins frame and shape a sappy finish that lingers with strong persistence and a sweetening touch of vanilla. 57% new French oak”
Josh Raynolds
Antonio Galloni’s Vinous
October 2020
“Soft cherry nose; silky and smooth texture, bright cherry and raspberry fruit anchored by a firm base of lively acidity; juicy, fresh and long.”
Anthony Dias Blue
May 2019
“Limpid ruby-red. A deeply perfumed bouquet evokes ripe red berries, cherry pie, baking spices and pungent flowers. Concentrated but also light on its feet, offering vibrant black raspberry, cherry cola and candied rose flavors sharpened by a peppery flourish. Finishes gently tannic, floral and impressively long, leaving a sappy red berry liqueur note behind.”
Josh Raynols
Antonio Galloni’s Vinous
November 2019
“Limpid ruby-red. A highly aromatic bouquet evokes ripe black raspberry, cherry-vanilla, candied flowers, oak spice and smoky minerals. Sweet, seamless and broad in the mouth, showing very good depth and power to its intense red and dark berry liqueur, mocha and spicecake flavors. Closes smooth, sappy and very long, with harmonious tannins coming in late.”
Josh Raynolds
Antonio Galloni’s Vinous
“From its very deep, beautifully oaked, incisively cherry-like aromas to its stunningly long flavors, this finely honed offering hits all of the right varietal marks, and its richness comes with remarkable polish. It smacks of vanilla and cola at one moment and at flowers the next while remaining ever anchored by authoritative, extraordinarily pure, Pinot fruit, and more than persisting on and on at the finish, it seems to build on the palate and reveal more as it goes. Its considerable virtues are hard to miss now, but it comes with an unmistakable promise of showing even more with time, and it has the balance, fruity depth and energy to arrive at its tenth birthday without having lost a single step.”
Connoisseurs’ Guide to California Wine
June 2017
“One of the more engaging single-vineyard expressions this winery makes from the region, this bottling by winemaker Bill Brousseau hits the nose with ripe black cherries, crushed slate, dried violets, purple Thai basil and light black licorice. Desiccated pomegranate tones lead the lush yet lively palate that is layered with peppery spice and a touch of herbs.”
Wine Enthusiast
“Fresh and vibrant, with a rich mix of mineral, red and dark berry, plum and raspberry most evident. Reveals depth and persistence on the finish, showing fine-grained tannins. Drink now through 2021. 1,320 cases made”
James Laube
Wine Spectator
“Medium ruby color; tight, earthy cherry aromas; deep, complex stewed cherry flavors with earth and oak notes; good structure and balance; long finish. Deep, earthy Pinot that definitely needs time in the glass and bottle.”
Pinot Report
“One of Testarossa’s best 2011 Pinot Noirs, of 14 released, this wine is, in a word, gorgeous. First off is the silky texture, as airy as a cloud. Then there are the flavors, complex and lush in raspberries, cherries, brown sugar, cinnamon and oak. The wine is so delightful to drink now, you might miss out on cellaring it until 2018 to see where it goes.”
Wine Enthusiast
“Another highlight is the 2010 Pinot Noir Doctor’s Vineyard, which simply explodes from the glass with huge, dark red fruit. This is one of the richer wines in the lineup, but everything is in the right place. Spices, menthol, pine and dark red cherries flesh out in this radiant Pinot. This is easily one of the most distinctive Pinots being made in the Santa Lucia Highlands. The Pinot was grafted onto existing Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot vines, which may explain some of the wine’s uniqueness. Anticipated maturity: 2013-2020.”
Antonio Galloni
Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
August 2012
The Doctor’s Vineyard
Doctor’s Vineyard is located at about 350-540 ft. in elevation and has a Southeastern exposure. Testarossa currently receives 40 of the 194 acres of Pinot Noir planted at Doctor’s. The vineyard was originally planted in 1991 and Testarossa’s blocks include more than 10 different Pinot Noir clones. Doctor’s Vineyard is owned by the Hahn Family and is certified sustainable. It has fast become a favorite of Testarossa Wine Club members.