Pinot Noir highlights: Santa Cruz Mountains

This the first in a series where I’m focusing on two of my favorite places in California when it comes to Pinot Noir.

While it was Sonoma that gave me the California Pinot itch many years ago, I’ve found my palate aligns perfectly with the Pinots of the Santa Cruz Mountains American Viticultural Area. Defined by higher altitude vineyards, grapevines here are coaxed to ripeness in the cool coastal mountains, and affected by the Pacific and nearby San Francisco Bay. Large diurnal temperature swings in the growing season, and warmer air getting trapped above the fog in winter, it all combines to give winegrowers a unique and exciting playing field.

Thomas Fogarty vines. Credit: Wines of the Santa Cruz Mountains

With a history going back to the late 1800s, this area has been recognized as its own AVA for more than 40 years. The region has expanded, with some 1,600 acres planted to wine grapes and some 300 growers today. This is a land of smaller wineries, lots, and total production. But the gems are not hard to find – they’re all over. 

These distinct conditions allow different sites in the AVA to express very different tones and flavors. But, overall, to describe Pinot from the Santa Cruz Mountains I’d use words like: airy, bright, tangy, spicy, herbal, high-toned, etc.

It is always a pleasure to return to historic producers like Mount Eden and Ridge, and I love me some spicy Santa Cruz Mountain Cabernets and creamy but zesty Chardonnays. But the Pinot just hits differently here. 

I’ve been floored by single-vineyard or blended wines from producers like Rhys, Beauregard, Kutch, and others. But to prove my point about the exception nature of these Pinot Noirs, I have three wines this week from producers that are new to me. From Thomas Fogarty, Lester Estate, and Sante Arcangeli Family, these wines offer a great window into what makes this region special. If you are yet to dig deep here, and you’re for of Pinot, there’s plenty to explore in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

These wines were received as samples and tasted single-blind.

2019 Thomas Fogarty Pinot Noir Windy Hill Vineyard - USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains

SRP: $85
Bright ruby color. The nose sports a mix of cool black and red cherries along with spiced cranberry relish and tones of rose petals, sage, herbal tea, black pepper, some leather – really complex and the aromas make me salivate. The palate shows moderate tannins and an airy but punchy feel. Tart black cherries, tangy raspberries, crunchy cranberries, the fruit is beautiful and laced with elements of minerals, warm clay, potting soil, fallen leaves, dried rose petals. Crisp, deep, complex, lasting. (93 points)

2019 Thomas Fogarty Pinot Noir Will's Cabin Vineyard - USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
SRP: $85
Medium ruby color. The aromas are gorgeous, with airy raspberries and strawberries along with juicy black cherries. Notes of sage, earth, forest floor, rhubarb, rose petals, and pine resin add a lot of complexity. The palate is so crisp and effortless, with dusty tannins and brisk acidity – structured but super fresh. Tangy cranberries, fresh raspberries, and crunchy red cherries offer a lot to enjoy, and the fruit is backed up by tones of dusty earth, savory herbs, mushrooms, dried rose petals, black tea. A lot going on but it’s seamlessly integrated, and it should age wonderfully. (93 points)

2021 Lester Estate Wines Pinot Noir Traviso - USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
SRP: $57

Deep ruby. Gorgeous aromatics on display, with the freshest raspberries and strawberries, tangy pomegranate, all backed up by complex notes of violets, rhubarb, white pepper, and all sorts of clay and tilled soil. The palate is juicy, spicy, and tangy, with structured but refined tannins on a bed of brisk acidity. The cherry, cranberry, and raspberry fruit is juicy but tart, and interwoven with complex vibes of rhubarb, clove, leather, clay, and rich soil. I get some mineral and rocky elements that last long onto the finish. So lovely right out of the gate, but this will get even more refined, complex, and integrated over the next five years. (94 points)

2019 Lester Estate Wines Pinot Noir Mercurio - USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
SRP: $57
Dark ruby color. Deep but inviting aromatics of cranberry and raspberry compote, with all sorts of spicy-herbal complexities: sage, pepper, tobacco, rhubarb, these breezy-floral tones, it’s all quite lovely. The palate sports lovely balance between the smooth tannins and crisp acidity, with gushing, tangy fruit (raspberries, red cherries, cranberries). The non-fruit elements really shine and define this wine’s flavor profile, with these stony minerals and earth, rhubarb and white pepper, and all sorts of floral nuances. Focused and refined already but this has a long life ahead of it. (93 points)

2021 Sante Arcangeli Family Wines Pinot Noir Split Rail Vineyard - USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains
SRP: $60
Light ruby color. Smells so juicy and alive, with tangy red cherries, wild raspberries, and a well-blended host of rhubarb, spiced tea, tobacco, earth. Lots of floral and potpourri tones to parse through as well – basically, aromatically awesome. Ripe but nuanced on the palate with brisk acidity and suave tannins. Pretty, tangy red fruits (red currants, cherries, strawberries), with nuances of light roast coffee, dusty earth, dried roses, rhubarb, all sorts of cool stuff going on. A crystalline focus, bright and expressive in its youth, but I’d love to see this in five years. (94 points)