2006 Roar Pinot Noir “Pisoni Vineyard”, Santa Lucia Highlands

Gary Franscioni’s Roar wines are now made by the talented Ed Kurtzman, who is taking over from Adam Lee (Siduri), and he is really taking these wonderful wines to the next level and allowing the vineyard sites to really show themselves. This is my favorite version of this wine so far. This unfiltered and rich Pinot Noir has a more cloudy appearance, with a pretty ruby and garnet hue. The fruit is fresh and leans on raspberry, dark cherry and plum, though there is some red currant and cranberry as well. This wine has great depth and “Pisoni” style structure and boldness with lush textures and complexity. There is a smoky sweet vanilla oak note, but it fits perfectly and this is a very focused and balanced wine that has it all right from nose to finish. This Pinot has great fruit, good savory spices, nice florals and lavish oak shadings and will be released this fall! Kudos to Gary and Ed for making a great wine even better and for letting this magical vineyard show itself and again showcase its Grand Cru statis. ($55-65 Est.)

95 Points, grapelive (by Kerry Winslow)