2021 Pisoni Vineyard Pinot Noir
Santa Lucia Highlands AVA
Tasting Notes
“Deep red hue. Aromas of roasted cherries, ripe pomegranate, jasmine, sage, caramel, and vanilla bean make for quite the sensory experience. These qualities continue and are united with flavors of cherry jam, increasing the pleasure of this wine. Juicy and generous tannins flow seamlessly to a bold, tasty, and full throttle experience. Enjoy now through 2032.”
~Bill Brosseau, Director of Winemaking
July 2023
Review coming soon.
Matt Kettmann
Wine Enthusiast
December 2023
Production Data
Growers: Pisoni Family
Winemaker: Bill Brosseau
Appellation: Santa Lucia Highlands AVA
Elevation/Exposure: 1200 feet; Southeast
Soil: Decomposed granite and clay
Vineyard Age: 29 years
Viticulture Practice: Sustainable (SIP Certified)
Vinification: Destemmed, fermented in Stainless steel
Cooperage & Ageing: 20 months in French oak, 67% new
Production: 12 barrels
Composition: 100% Pinot Noir
Acidity: 3.39 pH, 7.07 TA (g/L)
Alcohol: 14.3%
Harvest: September 24, 2021, hand harvested
Club Release: August 2023
Release Price: $92
Drink Now through 2032
Past Vintage Wine Scores
“For coming from a site that typically yields notoriously rich wines, this bottling begins with subtle aromas of pomegranate, raspberry, cardamom and nutmeg. The palate is brisk and tightly wound, pairing a judicious use of barrel spice alongside white pepper and pomegranate flavors.”
Matt Kettmann
Wine Enthusiast
December 2021 Issue
“Vivid ruby-red. Intense, spice-accented red and blue fruit, potpourri and incense qualities on the assertively perfumed nose, along with cola and woodsmoke flourishes. An undercurrent of minerality supports sappy raspberry, cherry cola and boysenberry flavors that deepen with air while maintaining urgency. The floral note comes back strong on a gently tannic, strikingly long finish that shows sharp definition and resonating spice and cherry notes. 64% new French oak.”
Josh Raynolds
Antonio Galloni Vinous
October 2020
“Testarossa’s Niclaire bottling earns its spurs for its marvelous marriage of refinement and fruity precision, but the 2017 Pisoni Pinot Noir shares top honors by dint of its show-stopping concentration and depth. It is a dense, very fullscaled effort of uncompromising richness that holds nothing back and boasts an absolute wealth of authoritative cherry and plum fruit that never relents. Although it is a wine of considerable staying power and unquestionable future promise, it, too, is so out-and-out delicious that a good deal of self-discipline will be required in setting it aside for the five or six years of cellaring that it commends. ”
Connoisseurs’ Guide to California Wine
November 2019
“Brilliant ruby. Intensely perfumed aromas of red and blue fruit liqueur, spicecake, smoky minerals and incense, with hints of cola and vanilla in the background. Densely packed and alluringly sweet, showing excellent depth and a smoky mineral accent to the sappy red and dark berry and cherry-vanilla flavors. Gains breadth and energy on the impressively long finish, where gentle tannins build slowly and fold into the wine’s juicy, expressive fruit.”
Josh Raynolds
Antonio Galloni Vinous
“Bright ruby. A complex, highly perfumed bouquet displays aromas of fresh black raspberry, incense and cola, and a sexy floral nuance gains strength as the wine stretches out. Sweet, round and seamless in the mouth, showing impressive heft as well as energy. Strongly echoes the floral note on a gently tannic finish that lingers with serious, intensely fruit-driven tenacity.”
Josh Raynolds
Antonio Galloni Vinous
November 2017
The Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard offers lovely fresh aromas of pure red cherry and raspberry fruit. On the palate it exhibits a soft and silky texture, delicious red berry fruit flavors, round tannins and a long and luscious finish. The Pisoni Vineyard is among the finest low yielding vineyards in the SLH if not all of California for growing Pinot Noir. Meticulously managed too.
International Wine Review
“While I was disappointed with a lot of Pisoni Vineyard releases last year (that site didn’t do well in 2012 for some reason), the 2013s from the vineyard are superb. The 2013 Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard from Testarossa is a great example of this and offers a crystalline, elegant, chiseled feel to go with pretty cassis, raspberry, crushed rock and violets. Medium to full-bodied, seamless and lengthy, it’s a great Pinot Noir that will have a decade or more of overall longevity.”
Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“Coming from the southern end of the Santa Lucia Highlands and decomposed Granite soils, the 2012 Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard was completely destemmed and spent 17.5 months in 67% new French oak. Giving up plenty of sweet oak in its black fruits, rosemary, leather and hints of chocolate, this beauty is medium to full-bodied, nicely concentrated and structured. Give it a year and enjoy bottles through 2022.”
Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
“A step up on the richness scale, the 2011 Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard displays the richness and depth of the terroir nicely. Loaded with crushed berry fruit, wild herb, underbrush and forest floor nuances, this medium to full-bodied, seamless and lively effort has a core of sweet fruit and beautiful length through the finish. It should have 4-6 years of prime drinking, if not more. Drink now-2019.”
Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
August 2013
The Pisoni Vineyard
The Pisoni Vineyard is one of the most special and sought after vineyards in the country. It has been called the closest vineyard to a Grand Cru in the new world by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. It was first planted by Gary Pisoni in 1982 and it is one of the highest vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands at 1300 feet. It is 35 acres consisting of small vineyard blocks along the ridge and mountainous landscape of the Santa Lucia Mountain Range. The soil is clay laced with decomposed granite and bears a southeastern exposure. But it is more than the location that makes Pisoni a special place. Gary and his son Mark are obsessive about low yields and meticulous about vineyard management. They have year round long-term employees who care for each and every vine by hand. Every decision in the vineyard implements sustainable farming practices and long-term considerations. Testarossa is proud to have been partnering with the Pisoni Family since 1997.
Past Vintages
Wine Production Data
Learn more about Pisoni Vineyard:
“Farming for the Future. Sustainability at Pisoni Vineyards”