Beyond Pinot Noir: Monterey and Santa Cruz Weave a Vibrant Wine Mosaic

Sierra Mar Vineyard floats like an island when viewed from a distance. Perched over 1,000 feet (300 meters) above sea level, it’s skirted by steep flanks that fall away from the vines into the valley below. Eight miles north is Rosella’s Vineyard, and Garys’ Vineyard can be found less than two miles away. Within easy driving distance from them all is a tapestry of world-class pinot noir and chardonnay. If anything embodies the impressive nature of the Santa Lucia Highlands in particular, and Monterey County in general, this is it.

In fact, these three vineyards are the source of many of the top wines in this report out of the 300-plus from Monterey County and the Santa Cruz Mountains – both in the Central Coast of California and easy drives south from San Francisco – that we rated. These include the Roar Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands Sierra Mar Vineyard 2023, a broad, generous wine with black cherries, cedar and clove carried on a concentrated frame; Kosta Browne’s Pinot Noir Monterey Santa Lucia Highlands Rosella's Vineyard 2022, which impressed with suppleness and tension underlying citrus, potpourri and violets; and Clarice Wine Co.’s polished, structured 2023 Garys’ Vineyard pinot noir, whose opulent fruit aromas set the stage for a full-bodied and structured palate that holds tremendous promise for the future.

More than 60 of the wines in this report rated 94 points or above, with 20 earning scores of 95 or higher, including several from Rhys, Farm Cottage, Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard and others.

Scott Caraccioli, the general manager of Caraccioli Cellars, which produces, among other excellent bottlings, some of the most compelling sparkling wines in the Santa Lucia Highlands, said a couple factors play a role in shaping the region’s wines.

“The depth of Monterey Bay creates a wind tunnel that rips down the Salinas Valley, preserving acidity and freshness,” he explained. “We have a very long growing season without much threat of fall rains or extreme temperatures, which allows for long hang time and optimal phenolic development. Having the benefit of both great acid retention and a long growing season allows the grapes to develop on the vine for optimal expression without pushing overripeness.”

The confluence of geologic and climatic phenomena sets the stage for a region of impressive range and accomplishment, which is maximized through the varied aspects and terroirs on which the top vineyards are planted – from the sandy, gravelly loam of the lower-lying Tondre Grapefield and the alluvial terrace of Soberanes Vineyard to the higher-altitude granite and gravelly loam of Sierra Mar.

Over the years, the character of each vineyard has been mined and studied to better understand what to grow where, how to farm each block to its greatest benefit and how to make the best possible wines once the fruit is harvested.

Walking the vines of Caraccioli Cellars' Escolle Vineyard, a 124-acre expanse composed primarily of Chualar sandy loam with a bit of alluvial sandy loam and Parkfield clay, the granular nature of the parcellation becomes clear. “There's 47 blocks at this point,” Caraccioli said. “I've transitioned a couple to gamay and a couple to syrah as time went on, and I realized where most of the organic material is. But the reality of the situation is the majority of this vineyard is planted to pinot noir, which is 84 of the 124 acres.”

But even with the preponderance of pinot, there are still 46 unique marriages of clone and rootstock in the vineyard. As a result, the team at Caraccioli Cellars has a tremendous breadth of material to work with when crafting their detailed wines, including the subtle, vivacious 2019 brut rosé, which boasts notes of hazelnut, brioche and plenty of fruit.

For a long time, Monterey County was known more for the volume of grapes it grew than the quality of wines produced from them. Over the past several decades, however, it has emerged as a source of some of the most compelling pinot noir and chardonnay in the country, not to mention a highly successful range of other varieties, from syrah to sauvignon blanc and beyond – more than 50 in all.

Michael Griva, for example, grew the grapes for a number of high-scoring white wines in this report, particularly sauvignon blanc and chardonnay, on his eponymous 334-acre vineyard in the Arroyo Seco AVA of Monterey County. Among his winery customers is Joyce Vineyards, whose Joyce Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc Arroyo Seco 2024 embodies the purity and definition that the top wines of the appellation can achieve.

Russell Joyce, the winemaker for Joyce Vineyards, characterized the Griva Vineyard as  “basically an old dehydrated riverbed with extremely rocky soils and lots of sand,” which nonetheless has some similarities to the “very different” Santa Lucia Highlands. “Obviously we both have the wind, which really benefits us because basically it pulls in the marine influence from the Monterey Bay in the mornings and overnight and then basically closes it through,” he explained. “And then in the afternoon we have this really long, even growing phase.”

He added: “I think we actually have some of the longest growing days on record here [with] the most sunshine, but always, at a certain point, this wind turns on,” which he said is one of the reasons the wines have such vibrant natural acidity.

Of course, the natural benefits of a region mean little if they’re not harnessed to their fullest extent. Mark Pisoni, who farms his family’s Pisoni Estate, stressed the importance of that in the Santa Lucia Highlands, where he’s based, as well as in greater Monterey County.

“The SLH’s uniqueness comes from geography and our farming culture,” he said. “Our geographic features are extreme: poor granite-based soils, low rainfall, a cold climate, dense fog and vicious afternoon winds. These factors combine with a strong farming culture to make the SLH a truly unique spot to grow grapes. We are a small AVA with a high percentage of multigenerational local farmers. We still drive tractors down River Road, talk regularly and work together to make things better. Traveling through the SLH, the Salinas Valley and Monterey County makes one realize farming is still first around here.”

Topography Becomes the Terroir

Like Monterey County, the Santa Cruz Mountains region, which is closer to San Francisco, also produces wines that collectors and sommeliers regard highly, but the vivid, age-worthy reds and whites made here have their own unique identity.

“The AVA is defined by elevation, and each pocket has a unique experience of the fog, inversion layer, terrain, aspect, etc.,” said Sarah Green, the winemaker for Neely Wine, whose often electric wines impressed across a wide-ranging tasting at the winery. The Neely Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains Spring Ridge Vineyard Home Block 2023, for example, is excellent, with its chiseled-rock minerality wending throughout.

“Topography is a very immediate way of thinking about terroir,” Green said. “If you’re standing on a hillside, you can physically feel the angle of your feet on the ground, the way the shadows and light move around you. The Santa Cruz Mountains really are mountains.”

But the influence of Monterey Bay still looms large, according to David Johnson, who works on the Big Basin Vineyards winemaking team. “Although you can’t quite see it here, the most defining characteristic is our proximity to the ocean,” he said from one of Big Basin’s vineyard parcels high up in the Santa Cruz Mountains, from which they made their savory, crunchy Big Basin Vineyards Syrah Santa Cruz Mountains Sixty-Two Terraces 2022.

One essential element the ocean brings is the fog, which, depending on when it rolls in and then burns off, affects the character of the wines Big Basin makes in significant ways.

It acts as an air-conditioner of sorts, cooling the vines and extending the growing season, said Big Basin’s winemaker, Blake Yarger. “I mean, there’s some really hot areas to the Santa Cruz Mountains, so having that little natural air conditioner come in is like a saving grace.”

There are cooler areas, too. One of the highest scoring wines in this report, for example, is the Ridge Vineyards Santa Cruz Mountains Monte Bello 2022, which perennially embodies what makes this region so special, and showcases what has made this specific vineyard so venerated over the decades. The layered fruit of the famously heat-impacted vintage, alongside licorice and olive brine, remains full-bodied yet bright and seamless, full of character now and potential for the future.

According to Green, the character of the terrain and climate in the region have shaped it in critical ways. “Vineyard sizes and shapes are governed by the terrain in a way that feels different from wide river valleys and rolling hills of other regions I have known,” she said.

Prior to joining Neely, she made wine in Sonoma and Anderson Valley, so her point of reference is unique.

“You will struggle to find a large, contiguous vineyard here,” Green said. “As such, SCM producers tend to be smaller scale, their lot sizes are smaller and the topography inspires us to make very focused, vineyard and block-designate wines that capture these small plots carved out of the hillsides. Everything follows from that, especially at Neely, where nearly all of our wines are block-designate.”

Taken together, the wines of Monterey County and the Santa Cruz Mountains represent a great deal of what’s driving the work of top producers throughout California: a focus on terroir, a highly granulated approach to farming and a serious commitment to expressing these unique places through the lens of incisive, well-defined wines.

Pisoni, of Pisoni Estate in the Santa Lucia Highlands, said the energy and passion that he saw from producer-growers in his own area was reflected throughout greater Monterey County and in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

“With the farming background in our area, there is a very strong network to support agriculture and growers,” said. “This farming culture with younger generations getting involved has brought an increased focus on sustainability, regenerative, organic and other good farming practices.”

He added: “Change is quicker and easier with smaller family farmers, and this innovation and preparation for continual change will help the Santa Lucia Highlands flourish. I see a lot more farmers thinking of ways to innovate than I saw 10 or 20 years ago.”

That willingness to innovate, as well as a deep respect for the land itself, is helping to drive two regions whose wines are compelling, idiosyncratic and delicious, from the hotter 2022, the more even 2023 and, if the broad swath of wines tasted for this report are any indication, well beyond.

– Brian Freedman, Staff Writer & Taster

The list of wines below is comprised of bottles tasted and rated by the JamesSuckling.com tasting team. They include many latest releases not yet available on the market, but which will be available soon. Note: You can sort the wines below by vintage, score and alphabetically by winery name. You can also search for specific wines in the search bar.