McIntyre

2006 Mission Ranch Pinot Noir-Arroyo Seco

2006 Mission Ranch Pinot Noir-Arroyo Seco

2006 was a vintage that separated the men from the boys, to use an outdated metaphor. By that I mean that if you did the right things, like dropping excess fruit (most varieties set a very large crop), minimizing irrigation, did your leaf pulling and other vine tending correctly you ended up with really good wine. Some years you can let some of those things slide a bit if the vintage is a good one. Other years, like 2006, any little mistake you make in the vineyard comes back to bite you. Hard. Fortunately, at Mission, all the right things were done. One of the keys to our success there is that the soil is well drained, which forgives wet springs by letting the excess water drain away, preventing too much growth. The other key was that the vineyard basked in the white hot glare of Steve McIntyre’s, Doug Beck’s and my attention—because we wanted to see just how good it could be. What I learned about this site is that it is not as early ripening as I thought it would be, given its proximity to the entrance to Arroyo Seco. It is located just east of the southern limit of the Santa Lucia Highlands, and has more in common with the Highlands than with Arroyo Seco in terms of soil and certainly climate. Like most Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir, the fruit has very good color. It holds its acid well, and tends towards the darker fruit end of the spectrum. The 2006 Mission Ranch is quite deeply colored and full bodied, with similarly dark fruit flavors although there is a hint of something more high toned in the aromas as well. Still, you would not call this a light and pretty wine, rather it is a bit towards the dark and brooding end of the scale. There is a spice note that it shares with many of the Pinots from the Highlands to go along with the cherry and generally dark berried fruit flavors. It is a bit more tannic than many Santa Lucia Pinots that I work with. I would say it is a winter wine, good with heartier fare. Give it a little air before drinking—it will help open up the aromas.