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REVIEWS
Balancing European restraint with California’s expressive fruit flavors, is
how the winery refers to this wine. After tasting it, one would have to concur
with that assessment. Intense, runaway, fruit is finessed into balance and
elegance. Rich, complex flavors are married off with sweet tannins and
pronounced acidity. The overall package is very pleasing to the nose and palate.
A special wine to be remembered for special occasions. PIETRA SANTA 1999 MERLOT, CIENEGA VALLEY Huge, immensely fruity wine, with a harmonious balance between tannins and acidity. Dark, almost purple in color, it shows intense black cherry fruit, with hints of plums, coffee and chocolate, and tones of distant leather in the finish. This is a big-textured wine that explodes on the palate. It threatens to run away with itself, but always manages to stay on course. It is a wine of enormous depth and substance that is drinkable now, but will benefit hugely from two or three years in the cellar.
Just when you think the last Pinot you’ve tasted is impossible to beat, along
comes another to prove you wrong. This Vache Pinot Noir is just such a wine.
Big, opulent, complex, with a nose of rose petals, essences of wild
strawberries, leather, and soft earth tones. Lush fruitiness and exquisite
balance brings the word “noble” to mind. There’s little else that needs to be
said other than this is a GREAT wine. PIETRA SANTA 2000 ZINFANDEL, CALIFORNIA Pleasant floral aromas with rose petals, soft spice, ripe plum and toasted oak. The body is rich and medium textured, with flavors of blackberry and cherry integrated nicely on the palate. Tannins are soft and balanced, making the wine immediately drinkable, but offering a promise of more if laid down for a while. Fruity jam and pepper tones lead to a long and cleansing finish. A very good wine.
“Sassolino” means “little stone” in Italian, a reference to Pietra Santa
estate’s gravel-rich soils which soak up the sun’s heat during the day, and
release it in the cooler night. The resulting grapes are richer and more
concentrated, which translates into wine with similar virtues. This multi-Gold
winning Sassolino takes advantage of those characteristics in a blend of 75%
Merlot and 25% Sangiovese that mirrors the formulas of some big-name Italian
reds. Winemaker Alessio Carli, whose resume includes a stint at revered Chianti
powerhouse Badia a Coltibuono, created a jewel that in every way bridges the old
with the new. If you appreciate deep-hued wines of Tuscan ancestry and
California Merlots dripping with fruit, you will fall in love with this
exquisite example, as I did.
Made in the manner of its Italian namesake, winemaker Alessio Carli again
draws on intense California fruit to elevate an elegant old Italian standard.
The result is a wine that is both rich and vibrant, yet soft and round, with
plump fruit flavors and enough acidic character to offer a clean, lingering,
finish. Drink it with casual fare and slightly chilled, the way the Italians do. PIETRA SANTA 1999 JULIANNA, CIENEGA VALLEY A gorgeous blend of 70% Cabernet, 25% Merlot, and 5% Zinfandel grapes
distinguishes this wine as a one-of-a-kind bottling. It’s a big, opulent
attempt, rich in character and fruit, with balanced tannins and a surprisingly
smooth and clean finish. In the mouth, it really comes alive, exploding with
flavors of ripe red cherry, plum jam, pepper and tones of bittersweet chocolate.
Tannins are full, but round and kept in check by the intensity of the fruit.
This is an unusual wine of extraordinary character that shows its elegance in
the way it smoothes otherwise rough edges. The more I sipped, the more I
realized the richness in the complexity I was experiencing. A very, very well
made wine that can be laid down for a long time to come. PIETRA SANTA 1999 SASSO ROSSO, CALIFORNIA “Sasso Rosso means “Red Stone” in Italian, which is a reference to the mineral rich soil the vineyards at Pietra Santa possess. The wine is a blend of classic Italian, French and California varietals, soft and supple, with depth and complexity. There are intense aromas of dark stone fruit, cranberry, all spice and light smoke in the nose. The body is deceptively complex, with layers of cassis, clove, black cherry and juniper in a tight, harmonious structure. Tannins are forward, but subdued, with just the right acidity for a good balance and a long, pleasing finish. This is an excellent wine that delivers what it promises.
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