Santa Maria Valley

Medium

Cork

Michael Brughelli secured fruit from several standout sites for this Pinot Noir. From Solomon Hills, he sourced Clone 115, planted in 1999, which Brughelli says reminds him of the Pommard clone for its deep, dark texture and firm backbone. He also harvested Bien Nacido fruit from a hillside block planted to Pommard and Swan clones, along with Clone 667 from North Canyon, a site located up the canyon from Bien Nacido. In the glass, the wine is extremely floral, offering dark cherry, farmers’ market–ripe strawberry, and rosehip aromatics, with violets carrying through to the palate. There is a creamy, umami-rich character on the mid-palate, almost like a fine shaving of white truffle, underscored by a zesty blood orange–driven acid backbone. Medium-bodied, it finishes with lovely brown spice and floral notes, a crushed, chalky texture, and ripe apple-skin tannins that frame this beautifully precise and delicious wine. The 2023 vintage shows remarkable freshness and, at this early stage, feels slightly coiled, buoyed by vibrant acidity. It is thoroughly enjoyable now, but worth cellaring for the next decade or more. Each lot is picked individually, with Michael personally cluster- and berry-thinning in the days leading up to harvest. At the winery at Bien Nacido Vineyards, he vinifies each parcel separately, incorporating around 10% whole cluster overall. The fruit undergoes a four-day cold soak at 46°F in open-top fermenters before being moved into the sun to warm, allowing native fermentation to begin after roughly a day. He starts with pump-overs, then transitions to punch-downs over approximately 17 days, extracting both flavour and the tannin texture he values. The wine then spends 22 months ageing in French barrels, one-third new, with the final blend assembled a few months prior to bottling.

Pinot Noir

Brvghelli, Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley, California, USA, 2023

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Michael Brughelli secured fruit from several standout sites for this Pinot Noir. From Solomon Hills, he sourced Clone 115, plant

Brvghelli, Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley, Central Coast, California, USA 2023

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