2016 Talley Vineyards Estate Pinot Noir Arroyo Grande Valley

Iconic Pinot From Arroyo Grande’s Premier Producer

You can’t have a conversation about Central Coast Pinot Noirs without talking about Talley. From their vineyards in the Arroyo Grande Valley, you can smell the salty air from the Pacific and watch the fog swirl into their vineyards, blanketing each vine in a protective layer of cool air. Beneath the fog, Talley’s Pinot Noir vines wake up slowly, and gently coax their berries into delicate ripeness under the dappled sunshine that sneaks into California’s coldest winegrowing region.

Peeking beneath the wide, green leaves to get a glimpse at the berries—shivering in the morning chill—we wondered why anyone would go to such lengths to cultivate Pinot Noir.

After a sip of Talley’s 2016 Estate Pinot Noir, our musings were answered. Sandalwood-spiced, deeply infused with rich red fruit and licorice, this is a California Grand Cru firing on all cylinders. As the morning fog gave way to California’s signature sun, the rolling hills of Talley’s original plantings—the same grapes that land in this bottle—came into view, and breezes rustled past us, it all made sense.

$30 reds almost never showcase the complexity and nuance of Pinot Noir like Talley does in seemingly every release. It’s why the wine has long been in our books as easily one of the greatest Pinot Noirs in the country.

“I wish I was a Talley. This winery definitely isn’t the norm,” manager Evan Jones told us, going on to explain the Talley family bottles true expressions of their coastal terroir by relying completely on native yeasts, and bottles their wines without fining or filtration to express the maximum color and full aromatic spectrum their estate vineyards yield. “There’s no manipulation of any kind behind our wines, ever,” he concluded.  

Talley was the first to produce a Pinot Noir from this coastal locale, and today the third generation of the family is firmly at the helm, maintaining Arroyo Grande’s credential as a source for world-class wine. Bottled since 1986, this sumptuous signature release continues to offer elegance, freshness, and age-worthiness that is nearly unparalleled in the region. As Vinous has written, Talley’s efforts “equal the best that the Sta. Rita Hills has to offer, matching those wines for perfume, silkiness and vibrancy of fruit.”

The Rincon Vineyard, which supplied most of the grapes for this bottle, is home to two steep hillsides featuring shallow, calcareous soils that make for low yields and terrific aromatic sophistication. The Rosemary’s Vineyard, similarly steep, is the coolest site in the whole Talley portfolio, eking out a tiny production of Pinot Noir characterized by springy tension and structure.

The 2016 growing season was basically scripted out of a winemaker’s fantasy, with bud break occurring just ahead of schedule as cooler temperatures reigned, warming up slightly as the months progressed but never seeing immoderate shocks or heat spikes. Precipitation was low, sending roots deeper into the soil and driving complexity through the roof. Chilly winds bathe Pinot grapes in ideal temperatures for cultivation, allowing acids to remain firm as concentration grows incrementally. Maritime winds cleanse the vines; marine sedimentary soil provides Talley’s trademark mineral complexity and saline finish.  

For California Pinot Noir, it simply doesn’t get better than this—especially at this price— accordingly, our share won’t last the day.

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Acidity
• Tannin

• ABV 13.60%
• 30 mins
• Drink Up
• % Pinot Noir
• Serving temperature – 58°
• Cork