In the glass, it has a ruby color with aromas of cherries, blackberries, a hint of earth and roasted oak barrels.
On the palate, it is full-bodied, with refined tannins, balanced acidity, and flavors of red fruits such as cherries and raspberries, as well as vanilla and plum, leading to a long, complex finish.
Winter rainfall was about average, so the growing season began with sufficient soil moisture.
Sprouting began in the last week of February for the younger trees and around mid-March for the remaining trees.
The canopy had grown to about arm's length in April, and there were no signs that the corolla would fall and flowering would begin until mid-May.
Veraison arrived a little later than usual, towards the end of July, so naturally the harvest got off to a late start.
There was a heat wave on the weekend of September 14th, but the weather returned to normal after three days.
Although the timing for harvesting came suddenly, the pace of harvest was very good as the nights remained low and the days were moderately warm.
The quality of the fruit harvested is excellent, resulting in a wine with beautiful color, concentrated flavor, well-balanced tannins, smooth texture, and soft acidity.
The vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands (SLH) enjoy a long, dry growing season that allows them to produce wines with depth, complexity and ripe flavor.
Consisting of four estate vineyards, Lone Oak, Doctor's, Smith and Hook, Hearn's SLH Vineyards is located on a long, narrow plateau ranging from 60m to 360m above sea level.
The area's abundant sunlight and well-drained soil give the wine a concentrated flavor.
The carefully harvested and selected grapes were fermented in open stainless steel fermenters and aged for 14 months in small 228L French oak barrels.
We then select and blend only the wines from the barrels that have the aroma and flavor typical of Santa Lucia Highlands.
The winery was founded in the 1970s by Nikki and Gabby Hahn, German-Swiss immigrants.
Initially, they planted Cabernet trees and began making wine, but due to the characteristics of this region, which is influenced by the cold currents of the Pacific Ocean and the Monterey Bay, which is filled with cold sea water deep under the sea, in the 1980s they decided to revitalize their abilities in a cooler environment. Replanted into Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
In 1988, Nicky was convinced of the potential of this region and began working to have Santa Lucia Highlands (SLH) certified as an AVA, which was finally achieved in 1995.
Today, Santa Lucia Highlands is widely known as a region famous for producing high-quality wines, especially Pinot Noir.
Today, the Hahn family owns six vineyards in Monterey County, including four 260-hectare fields in SLH and two 184-hectare fields in the Arroyo Seco AVA to the south, for a total of 444 hectares. Masu.
Of this, 140ha is planted to Pinot Noir, making up 12% of SLH's Pinot Noir fields, making it the winery with the largest share.
It also has the largest variety of clones in the region, currently growing 21 different Pinot Noir varieties.
The combination of diverse soils, climate, amount of sunlight depending on the direction of the slope, and clones makes it possible to create a wonderful Pinot Noir that cannot be imitated anywhere else, and the Pinot Noir expresses the individuality of the terroir of each vineyard. I am.
The growing season in this region is approximately 25 days longer than in other California grape-growing regions, resulting in grapes that produce concentrated wines with a rich flavor, depth, and structure.