Pisoni Vineyard Pinot Noir
⏳ Drinking Window
Typically best enjoyed 5–12 years from vintage release.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roasted duck, wild mushroom risotto, grilled lamb chops
✨ Technical Specifications
The Pisoni Vineyard is the stuff of California wine legend. Perched at the southern end of the Santa Lucia Highlands in Monterey County, it was founded by Gary Pisoni in 1982. Lore has it that Gary smuggled Pinot Noir cuttings from a famous Grand Cru vineyard in Burgundy—a selection now famously known as the "Pisoni Clone." Dominion Tantara harnesses this exceptional fruit to craft a Pinot Noir of immense depth and structure. Grown on decomposed granite soils and subjected to the cooling winds of Monterey Bay, the grapes yield a wine characterized by dark fruit, forest floor, and intense minerality. Tantara employs traditional French winemaking methods, utilizing French oak aging to balance the natural power of the Pisoni fruit, resulting in a sophisticated, age-worthy masterpiece.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1997 by Virginia natives Bill Cates and Jeff Fink, Dominion Tantara (originally founded as Tantara Winery) was born from a mutual passion for cool-climate Burgundian varieties. Operating out of the historic Rancho Tepusquet within Santa Maria Valley's celebrated Bien Nacido Vineyard, the winery sources fruit from elite Central Coast terroirs, including Dierberg, Talley Rincon, Zotovich, and old-vine blocks of Bien Nacido. Benefiting from east-west transverse maritime corridors that funnel morning fog and cool Pacific winds across benchland sandy-loam soils, the estate emphasizes long hang-times with natural acidity preservation. Viticultural practices focus on sustainable management with meticulous canopy care. Cellar vinification embraces low-intervention Burgundian traditions: selective whole-cluster fermentations, native yeasts, and aging in fine-grained French oak barriques. Benchmark bottlings include single-vineyard expressions such as Bien Nacido Vineyard O Block Chardonnay, Zotovich Vineyard Chardonnay, and Dierberg Vineyard Pinot Noir, prized for their tension, crystalline minerality, and savory aromatic depth.
🍇 Grapes
Pinot Noir
🍷 ABV
14.0-14.8%