2022 Bruliam Pinot Noir Soberanes Vineyard Santa Lucia Highland

2022 Bruliam Pinot Noir Soberanes Vineyard Santa Lucia Highland

with No Comment $40-$50Central CoastKevin VogtMontereyPinot NoirSanta Lucia HighlandsUSA

Bruliam

Pinot Noir 2022
Soberanes Vineyard
Santa Lucia Highlands

2022 Bruliam Pinot Noir Soberanes Vineyard Santa Lucia Highland

Bruliam’s Soberanes Vineyard Pinot Noir captures the essence of one of California’s most respected vineyards, showcasing remarkable varietal purity, impeccable balance, and a profound sense of place. Sourced from the renowned Soberanes Vineyard, the latest jewel in the crown of the Pisoni and Franscioni families, this wine offers an exceptional glimpse into the terroir-driven excellence of the Santa Lucia Highlands—at a price that belies its quality.

Bruliam Wines is led by Kerith Overstreet, a physician-turned-winemaker whose meticulous approach and scientific background infuse every bottle with precision and vibrant energy. Her strong relationships with top growers provide access to fruit from iconic sites like Soberanes. Here, fog-drenched mornings, well-drained granitic soils, and consistent coastal winds contribute to the Pinot Noir’s remarkable depth and complexity.

The 2022 Soberanes Pinot Noir impresses with captivating aromatics and a majestic balance of complexity and finesse. This wine, with its impressive 95-point score, surpasses expectations, demonstrating excellence in both viticulture and winemaking—a true achievement for Bruliam Wines.

Bruliam
Pinot Noir 2022
Soberanes Vineyard
Santa Lucia Highlands
Retails at: $70

Your Price: $49.99

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“Pale to medium ruby-purple in color, the 2022 Soberanes Vineyard Pinot Noir gallops out with vibrant notes of redcurrant jelly, kirsch, and forest floor plus wafts of garrigue and mossy tree bark. The medium-bodied palate is both elegant and intense, with loads of red berry and mineral layers and a fine-grained texture, finishing long and refreshing.”

95+ Points

2022 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills

2022 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills

with No Comment $90-$100Central CoastKevin VogtPinot NoirSanta BarbaraSanta Rita HillsUSA

Kosta Browne

Pinot Noir 2022
Sta. Rita Hills

2022 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills

The star of our recent Kosta Browne tasting, the 2022 Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir, redefines expectations with its unforgettable expression of California’s Central Coast. This remarkable vintage highlights fruit from the iconic Rita’s Crown Vineyard, a gem in Kosta Browne’s portfolio. Perched on windswept slopes near the Pacific, this vineyard lends the wine a vibrant energy that captures the rugged beauty and unique spirit of the Santa Rita Hills.

As part of Kosta Browne’s acclaimed Appellation Series, this Pinot Noir reflects the winery’s unwavering dedication to storytelling. The Santa Rita Hills AVA, shaped by tectonic forces over 20 million years, is a geological marvel where cool marine breezes and fog flow through coastal ranges. This rare microclimate slows ripening, allowing grapes to achieve exceptional depth, complexity, and balance—a signature of this world-class region.

The 2022 vintage was expertly crafted, fermented in a masterful combination of stainless steel, concrete, and oak, followed by 16 months of aging in premium French oak barrels. The result is a captivating symphony of vibrant red fruit, exotic spice, and velvety tannins that glide effortlessly across the palate. Elegant and layered, this stunning wine is a must-try for every Pinot Noir lover—a true celebration of Kosta Browne’s artistry.

Kosta Browne
Pinot Noir 2022
Sta. Rita Hills
Retails at: $115

Your Price: $99.99

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“This Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir from Kosta Browne is a truly captivating wine. The nose opens with alluring aromas of strawberry preserves, delicate spring blossoms, and a touch of earthy wet stones with hints of subtle pie spices. On the palate, the wine unfolds with vibrant flavors of wild strawberries and briary boysenberries, complemented by a refreshing note of black tea. The mouthfeel is remarkably smooth and supple, with ripe fruit tannins providing elegant structure and a touch of grip. The finish is long and graceful, leaving a lasting impression of pure elegance and refined fruit expression. This wine exemplifies the exceptional quality and terroir-driven character that Kosta Browne is renowned for. It is a wine that will undoubtedly reward careful cellaring and provide many years of enjoyment.”

95 Points

2021 Sans Liege The Offering Red Blend Central Coast

2021 Sans Liege The Offering Red Blend Central Coast

with No Comment $30 and underCentral CoastKevin VogtPaso RoblesProprietary RedUSA

Sans Liege

The Offering
Red Blend 2021
Central Coast

2021 Sans Liege The Offering Red Blend Central Coast

Sans Liege wines capture the vibrant spirit of California’s Central Coast, drawing inspiration from the esteemed Rhône Valley. Winemaker Curt Schalchlin, influenced by his experiences in France, set out to cultivate Rhône varietals in California’s sun-drenched terroir. Each vintage showcases his dedication to sourcing exceptional fruit from across Paso Robles to Solvang—a diverse landscape that distinctly shapes each wine.

The Offering is Sans Liege’s nuanced take on the classic GSM blend. It begins with 30% whole-cluster Grenache, lending a lively energy, complemented by Syrah’s deep intensity and Mourvèdre’s grounding earthiness. The result is a compelling, textured wine that gracefully unfolds with every sip.

The 2021 vintage is remarkably complex. A bright, fresh acidity balances velvety tannins, enhancing the wine’s layered flavors while maintaining perfect harmony. It truly reflects Curt’s unwavering passion and artistry, with each bottle expressing not only his craftsmanship but also a connection—to the land, to tradition, and to those who share in its story.

Sans Liege
The Offering
Red Blend 2021
Central Coast
Retails at: $33

Your Price: $29.99

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“Sans Liege 2021 The Offering from the Central Coast is a Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre blend and has complex aromas of lavender, rose petals, white pepper, ripe raspberries, maraschino cherries, and a graphite minerality. On the palate, the wine has a soft texture with supple tannins, juicy red fruits, wild blackberries, dark chocolate, cloves, and red licorice. The wine’s concentrated flavors are balanced by refreshing acidity and carried into a pleasant, long finish. This wine has a friendly approachability and nuanced layers that make it enjoyable from beginning to end.”

93 Points

2021 Vigerons Pinot Noir Santa Barbara County

2021 Vigerons Pinot Noir Santa Barbara County

with No Comment $30 and underCentral CoastKevin VogtPinot NoirSanta BarbaraUSA

Vignerons

Pinot Noir 2021
Santa Barbara County

2021 Vigerons Pinot Noir Santa Barbara County

A standout value from Santa Barbara County, the 2021 Vignerons Pinot Noir encapsulates the essence of the Central Coast with grace and vibrancy. Bursting with wildflowers and fresh cherry aromas, its bright raspberry flavors unfold alongside whispers of forest floor and delicate spice. The fruit comes from the celebrated North Canyon and Bien Nacido Vineyards, where fog-draped mornings and brisk ocean breezes sculpt a wine of remarkable clarity and structure.

Santa Barbara County’s unique microclimates, shaped by cool Pacific winds, infuse the grapes with a refreshing acidity and complexity, making each sip a balanced, food-friendly delight. From the sunlit hills to the maritime mornings, the land whispers into the glass, creating a Pinot Noir that’s as versatile as it is memorable and distinct.

This exceptional value wine spent ten months in French oak barrels, where its vibrant fruit and fresh acidity came together, resulting in a Pinot Noir that celebrates Santa Barbara’s signature style—bright, refined, and irresistibly inviting. Whether paired with your favorite meal or enjoyed on its own, this wine is a shining example of why Santa Barbara remains a hallmark for Pinot lovers everywhere.

Vignerons
Pinot Noir 2021
Santa Barbara County
Retails at: $38

Your Price: $25

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“This value Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir delivers a captivating performance, elegantly presenting the region’s vibrant fruit expression with finesse and complexity. The nose is a farm basket of red raspberries, ripe black cherries, and lavender potpourri, all woven together in layers of alluring aromas. The palate is a vibrant expression of medium-bodied fruit dominated by red raspberry and wild strawberry notes with youthful fruit tannins. A refreshing crispness and zesty acidity enliven the palate, while subtle earthy elements and a saline minerality add complexity. This captivating Pinot Noir lingers on the palate, leaving a lasting impression of elegance and poise.”

92 Points

2022 Luli Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands

2022 Luli Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands

with No Comment $30 and underCentral CoastKevin VogtMontereyPinot NoirSanta Lucia HighlandsUSA

Luli

Pinot Noir 2022
Santa Lucia Highlands

2022 Luli Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands

At under $30, Luli’s Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir honors the idea that exceptional quality need not come with an exorbitant price tag. A collaboration between Master Sommelier Sara Floyd and the renowned Pisoni family, this wine is a harmonious blend of expertise and tradition.

Sara’s deep understanding of food and wine pairs seamlessly with Mark and Jeff Pisoni’s profound connection to the Santa Lucia Highlands. Together, they’ve crafted a wine that pays homage to the region’s coastal influence and its growing acclaim as a world-class Pinot Noir destination.

The 2022 Luli Pinot Noir is a celebration of the Highlands’ unique terroir. Sourced from sustainably farmed vineyards with low yields, the wine’s complexity is derived from a careful selection of Pinot Noir clones. Each cluster is hand-sorted and fermented with native yeasts in small lots, preserving the fruit’s natural character. By choosing to forego fining and filtering, the wine maintains its vibrant purity, resulting in a fresh, expressive, and undeniably handcrafted beverage.

This vintage is more than just a product of the land; it’s a tribute to a shared passion for crafting wines that exceed expectations.

Luli
Pinot Noir 2022
Santa Lucia Highlands

Your Price: $29.99

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“Dark pomegranate, raspberry and hibiscus aromas meet with tea leaf and dark sage on the dynamic nose of this appellation cuvée. The palate is lively with thyme, oregano and bay leaf flavors, set against a black raspberry core and atop a lingering texture.”

93 Points

2019 Calera Pinot Noir Central Coast

2019 Calera Pinot Noir Central Coast

with No Comment $30 and underCentral CoastKevin VogtPinot NoirUSA

CALERA

PINOT NOIR
CENTRAL COAST 2019

2019 Calera Pinot Noir Central Coast
A pioneer in domestic Pinot Noir, Josh Jensen founded Calera’s vineyard at an elevation of 2,200 feet on Mt Harlan after discovering the area’s limestone soils were similar to those in Burgundy, providing the depth and complexity to some of the world’s most well-respected wines.
 
Calera wines represent an American spirit with a French influence, and the Central Coast Pinot Noir sets a precedent for this old-world style in California and offers remarkable value. This 2019 vintage balances power and elegance with gorgeous red fruits, spice, silky tannins, and linear focus.
 
CALERA
PINOT NOIR
CENTRAL COAST 2019
Retails at: $30
 
Your Price: $26.99
 
 
“The Calera Central Coast Pinot Noir 2019 is a beautiful interpretation of New World Pinot Noir made in an Old World style. It begins with a nose of tart cherry, pomegranate, hibiscus petals, and hints of cloves. The bright, focused palate elegantly displays red cherry/berry characteristics followed by black tea and an interesting saline/liquid mineral complexity that draws you in for another sip. This wine is certainly one of the best value Pinot Noirs available in a daily-drinker price range.”
92 Points
2020 My Favorite Neighbor Blanc Chardonnay Blend San Luis Obispo

2020 My Favorite Neighbor Blanc Chardonnay Blend San Luis Obispo

with No Comment $40-$50Central CoastChardonnayKevin VogtPaso RoblesUSA

MY FAVORITE NEIGHBOR

BLANC [CHARDONNAY-BLEND]
SAN LUIS OBISPO 2020

2020 My Favorite Neighbor Blanc Chardonnay Blend San Luis Obispo
Farming is life for Eric Jensen, so he works exclusively with farmers who share the common goal of growing the best fruit possible using organic or biodynamic practices, coaxing the vines to perform at their apex. Gaining experience from neighbors Stephan Asseo of L’Aventure, and friend Justin Smith of Saxum, Eric’s wines make a bold statement of quality with an ideal balance of opulence, intensity, and richness.
 
Eric designs his wines to capture high-quality wine’s most intriguing qualities but with a value price to be shared with friends, family, and your favorite neighbors any day of the week. This Chardonnay-based blend is sourced from select vineyard sites in San Luis Obispo and is rich, sleek, and ready to drink now or in five to six years for aged complexity.
 
MY FAVORITE NEIGHBOR
BLANC [CHARDONNAY-BLEND]
SAN LUIS OBISPO 2020
 
Your Price: $49.99
 
 
“The Chardonnay-based 2020 Blanc has lush tropical fruits on the nose with accents of toast, almonds and sweet spice. The palate offers generous fruits, a sleek, polished texture, youthful new oak spices and expansive flavors on the long finish. Super classy!”
95 Points
2019 My Favorite Neighbor Cabernet Sauvignon San Luis Obispo

2019 My Favorite Neighbor Cabernet Sauvignon San Luis Obispo

with No Comment $40-$50Cabernet SauvignonCentral CoastKevin VogtPaso RoblesUSA

MY FAVORITE NEIGHBOR

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
SAN LUIS OBISPO 2019

2019 My Favorite Neighbor Cabernet Sauvignon San Luis Obispo
Turning heads with yet another massive score, Eric Jensen of My Favorite Neighbor created an ideal combination of perfectly ripe fruit, flavor intensity, and lavish textures, giving some of the best $50 Cabernets anywhere a real challenge. As a homage, he created this Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend from exceptional vineyards around Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, and Edna Valley, crafted to deliver unreal quality and shake up domestic the Cabernet Sauvignon market in this price range.
 
Eric is dedicated to growing fruit for some of the best wineries in Paso Robles, gaining experience from neighboring farmers and vintners, particularly from his original favorite neighbor, Stephan Asseo of L’Aventure Winery. Farming is life for him, and the farmers he works with all share the common goal of growing the best fruit possible using organic or biodynamic practices, coaxing the vines to perform at their ultimate best. The results are simply stunning, and with the new 96 point score, don’t hesitate to secure yours.
 
MY FAVORITE NEIGHBOR
CABERNET SAUVIGNON
SAN LUIS OBISPO 2019
 
Your Price: $49.99
 
 
“Blended with a bit of Syrah and Petit Verdot, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon has a deep ruby-purple color and an alluring fragrance of cassis, violet, aniseed, bitter chocolate and coffee beans. It’s notable this vintage for Goldilocks ripeness and seamless lift, offering a chocolate-like texture and very long finish.”
96 Points
 
“…more elegant and focused, with medium to full-bodied aromas and flavors of cassis, redcurrants, green tobacco, and cedary spice. I love its texture, it has ripe, polished tannins, plenty of sweet fruit, and a great, great finish, all while staying in a relatively compact, and again, elegant package. As I’ve written in the past, it would cost three to four times the price from Napa. It’s worth noting the change in appellation from Paso Robles to San Luis Obispo County, which probably allows for a wider range of fruit.”
95 Points
 
“2019 My Favorite Neighbor is deeply aromatic with incense, ripe black plums, blackcurrants, and chocolate-covered cherries. The wine has a rich, decadent mouthfeel with voluminous flavors of blueberry crumble, mocha, and butterscotch. The wine has an edgy minerality, like wet stones after a rainstorm, enhanced by the soft, chalky tannins, finishing with a succulent, velvety texture. Drink now until 2031.”
94 points
2018 Booker Fracture Syrah Paso Robles

2018 Booker Fracture Syrah Paso Robles

with No Comment $90-$100Central CoastKevin VogtPaso RoblesSyrahUSA

BOOKER

FRACTURE SYRAH
PASO ROBLES 2018

2018 Booker Fracture Syrah Paso Robles
Dedicated to growing fruit for some of the best wineries in Paso Robles, Eric Jensen farmer and winemaker at Booker Winery, gained valuable experience from neighbors Stephan Asseo of L’Aventure, and friend Justin Smith of Saxum. Fracture is one of Booker’s flagship wines, with its name paying homage to the limestone that causes the calcareous soil in the vineyard to crack.
 
Paso Robles welcomed the cooler 2018 vintage, leading to a relaxed harvest of healthy fruit and longer hang-time for the grapes, allowing them to develop more complex flavors and aromas. This 100% Syrah is made in a silky smooth style that Eric describes as “falling into a soft pillow” that is ready to drink right off of the bottling line but also has the potential to age for another 20 years or longer. 
 
BOOKER
FRACTURE SYRAH
PASO ROBLES 2018
 
Your Price: $99.99
 
 
“Another magical wine, the 2018 Fracture is based on 100% Syrah brought up in new and used French oak. Deep purple-hued, with beautiful notes of crème de cassis, blackberries, vanilla bean, toasted spices, white flowers, and a hints of charcuterie, this beauty hits the palate with full-bodied richness, perfectly integrated oak, a rounded, lush mouthfeel, and a great finish. This unabashedly Paso Robles Syrah brings loads of fruit yet stays balanced, elegant, and is simply a thrill to drink.”
98 Points
 
“Youthful purple. Heady, spice-accented aromas of blackberry, blueberry cherry liqueur and pungent flowers show excellent clarity and energetic lift. Sappy and penetrating on the palate, displaying sharply defined black/blue fruit, violet pastille, cola and exotic spice flavors that turn livelier as the wine opens up. Finishes extremely long, smoky and minerally, with powerful, spicy thrust, a repeating floral note and gently chewy, polished tannins.”
97 Points
2018 Bruliam Pinot Noir Soberanes Vineyard Santa Lucia Highland

220126 2018 Bruliam Pinot Noir Soberanes Vineyard Santa Lucia Highland

with No Comment $30-$40Central CoastKevin VogtMontereyPinot NoirSanta Lucia HighlandsUSA

BRULIAM

2018 PINOT NOIR
SOBERANES VINEYARD
SANTA LUCIA HIGHLANDS

2018 Bruliam Pinot Noir Soberanes Vineyard Santa Lucia Highland
Medical doctor-turned-winemaker Kerith Overstreet is the genius behind Bruliam, and it’s her intricate attention to detail that brings her wines energy and life. Bruliam Wines is a boutique winery producing around 1000 cases annually of single-vineyard Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, and Chardonnay from some of California’s most celebrated vineyards.
 
Kerith’s relationships with many renowned growers secure her allocations of some of the highest quality fruit in California, hence her single-vineyard Pinot Noir from Soberanes Vineyard, the latest site developed by the Pisoni & Franscioni families. The character of Soberanes shines brilliantly in this wine with its captivating, majestic balance of complex aromas and flavors; the wine is a real over-achiever at this price.
 
BRULIAM
2018 PINOT NOIR
SOBERANES VINEYARD
SANTA LUCIA HIGHLANDS
Retails at: $55
 
 
 
“Dark, bright-rimmed red. Spice-tinged red fruits, incense and floral qualities on the perfumed nose, along with a building mineral topnote. Juicy and energetic on the palate, offering vibrant raspberry and cherry, rose pastille and exotic spice flavors that show fine delineation and appealing sweetness. Deeply flavored but graceful as well, finishing on a gently tannic note, with strong, red-fruit- and spice-driven tenacity.”
93 Points