PAUL LATO
In Paul Lato's own words: "From my experience of tasting the finest wines from around the world, all the greatest wines possess authenticity, harmony, and elegance. These are the qualities I constantly try to capture in my wines. The ultimate goal is to create wines that are seamless and textural with enough structure and balance to complement fine cuisine. In order to make wines of the highest caliber, I select unique vineyards that are cared for by talented vineyard managers committed to excellence. I strive to locate and source from not only the best vineyards but the best blocks within each of these vineyards. During the growing season, yields are restricted to achieve maximum concentration of flavor. Harvest is based on physiological ripeness, which changes depending on the vintage characteristics. Cellar work is based on minimal intervention, cleanliness and purity of intention."
"From the Drum Canyon Vineyard and brought up 18 months in 70% new French oak, the 2023 Pinot Noir Stand By Me offers black raspberries, graphite, spring flowers, and minty, sappy underbrush nuances on the nose. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, concentrated, and focused, with beautifully integrated oak (it brings to mind Roumier), it has a tight, focused mouthfeel, beautiful overall balance, and a great finish. Give it a year or two to integrate its oak and drink through 2035. It's another sensational Pinot Noir from the genius of Paul Lato. Drink 2027-2035." -Jeb Dunnuck, 99JD
"From granitic soils on the southern end of the Santa Lucia Highlands, the 2023 Pinot Noir Lancelot Pisoni Vineyard was aged 18 months in 50% new French oak. Deep ruby-hued and semi-opaque, it offers darker berries, crushed stone, graphite, and sappy floral nuances. Medium to full-bodied, it has a focused, structured mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and a great finish. This 2023 will benefit from a year or two of bottle age and cruise over the following decade. Drink 2027-2037." -Jeb Dunnuck, 97JD
"From the Zotovich Vineyard on the southern side of the Sta. Rita Hills and aged 17 months in 65% new French oak, the 2023 Pinot Noir Seabiscuit is translucent ruby and very floral and spicy, with a beautiful core of mulberry and raspberry fruits, rose, and smoky herb nuances. It's gorgeous on the palate as well, with a fresh, focused mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and a great finish. It's one of the fresher, more chiseled, focused Pinots in the lineup from Paul and is going to cruise for a decade in cold cellars. Drink 2025-2035." -Jeb Dunnuck, 96JD
"Sourced from the Rincon Vineyard and brought up 16 months in 50% new French oak, the 2023 Chardonnay Done & Done Rincon Vineyard offers crushed citrus, lemon, and hints of tropical fruits intermixed with white flowers. It has gorgeous purity, medium body, a fresh, focused, vibrant mouthfeel, and a great finish. This is one of the most impressive Chardonnays in the vintage from this site and will have 7-8 years of prime drinking. Drink 2025-2033.." -Jeb Dunnuck, 97JD
"Sourced from Pisoni Vineyard and brought up 16 months in 60% new French oak, the 2023 Chardonnay East Of Eden Pisoni Vineyard is light to medium gold-hued and offers exotic stone fruits, honeyed melon, spice, and some minty, herbal notes. Medium to full-bodied, it has a pure, layered crystalline mouthfeel, integrated acidity, and a fabulous finish. It's a rich, powerful, serious Chardonnay that will keep for 8-10 years. Drink 2025-2035." -Jeb Dunnuck, 97JD
"The 2023 Chardonnay Peake Ranch Vineyard Ma Jolie is cool-toned and flinty, with a distinctly reductive nose of toasted hazelnut, orange peel and baking spices. Very rounded and supple, it's a Chardonnay of sumtuous texture and creamy intensity. Mellow, gentle acidity lends support through the long, floral-inflected finish. Drink 2025-2031." -Vinous, 92VM
"The 2023 Sauvignon Blanc Sanger Estate Vineyard Le Nouveau Jardin offers an attractive mix of varietal brightness and ripe raciness. Orchard fruit, white flowers, mint, sage and a touch of oak all meld together in this very pretty, layered Sauvignon Blanc. The 2023 is a blend of lots fermented in concrete egg, amphora, French oak and tank. This is such a classy, polished wine. (Drink between 2024-2028)" -Vinous, 94VM
"The 2023 Syrah Bien Nacido Vineyard Il Padrino is explosively aromatic and voluptuous. Powerful blue/black fruit, black pepper, tobacco and violet notes weave through the palate. The Il Padrino is a supremely confident wine, marrying generous textures with subtle, salty acids and a perfectly calibrated web of upright tannins. Ten percent Viognier in the co-ferment and 10% whole clusters in the SYrah lend lift and intrique (Drink between 2025-2035)" -Vinous, 95VM
"The 2021 Pinot Noir Drum Canyon Vineyard Stand by Me is deep, powerful and authoritative, with tons of textural resonance and class to burn. Dark blue/purplish fruit, lavender, spice, leather, menthol and licorice build effortlessly. There's terrific mid-palate density and fine, fine balance. Gorgeous. (Drink between 2024-2033)." -Antonio Galloni, 95VM
"The 2022 Pinot Noir Seabiscuit Zotovich Vineyard has some classic Sta. Rita Hills salty, mineral, savory notes as well as a core of both red and black fruits, some floral, gamey, and bouquet garni nuances, medium body, a round, layered mouthfeel, and fine tannins. It's very much in the more open-knit, perfumed, supple style of the vintage and is already drinking beautifully." -Jeb Dunnuck, 95JD
"The 2022 Syrah Il Padrino Bien Nacido Vineyard is more elegant and mid-weight compared to the Larner Vineyard, offering a beautiful Côte Rôtie perfume of black raspberries, spring flowers, game, pepper, and even a kiss of bacon fat. With medium-bodied richness, a pure, elegant, seamless mouthfeel, soft tannins, and outstanding length, it's a joy to drink today yet should continue drinking fabulously well through 2032. It doesn't match the all-time greats of this cuvée, but it's a gorgeous Syrah nevertheless. (Drink between 2024-2032)" -Vinous, 94VM
"The 2023 Space Cadet (85% Syrah, 15% Grenache from Bien Nacido & Larner) is a velvety, silky wine that marries floral Granche aromatics with dark purple Syrah fruit, mocha, vanilla and spice. Chalky tannins and calibrated acids provide an impeccaboy balanced framework, all wrapped up in velvety smooth contours. The 2023 is impossible to resist." (Drink between 2025-2034)" -Vinous, 95VM
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"Classic late harvest wine. The nose brings explosive acacia honey and bees wax, caramel notes, Turkish sultana raisins, white peach, and honeysuckle. On the palate the wine is extremely long with velvety texture but beautifully incorporated freshness and acidity, which are the hallmark of a truly fine wine." -- Paul Lato, November 2023
