2018 Paul Lato Pinot Noir Suerte Solomon Hills Vineyard

Leading off the Pinot Noirs, the 2018 Suerte Solomon Hills Vineyard comes from a great vineyard just west of Bien Nacido and spent 17 months in 60% new French oak. Lots of black raspberries, spiced cherries, salty sea breeze, flowers, orange blossom, and violet notes emerge from the glass, and it's beautifully textured, full-bodied, and incredibly sexy on the palate. It's stunning today yet will evolve for upwards of a decade. A great California success story, Polish immigrant Paul Lato started as a cellar hand in a Santa Maria co-op/custom crush and has worked his way up to being one of the leading producers of artisanal, world class wines in California today. Lato fashions a bevy of wines (I would normally say too many, yet given the quality he’s able to achieve, the more the merrier) including Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Syrah. These aren’t lightweight wines, yet they never lose their sense of balance and elegance. I always describe the wines as having a slightly Old World style, but with one foot planted firmly in California. As I hope the reviews show, his 2018s are incredible wines across the board.

The 2018 Pinot Noir Suerte Solomon Hills Vineyard is one of the more overtly ripe wines in this range. Ripe blue/purplish fruit add an element of exoticism in this mid-weight, racy Pinot. Sweet spice, lavender, rose petal and blood orange inflections are all laced together in a silky, alluring Pinot endowed with tremendous appeal. As good as the 2018 is, I wish it had a bit more depth.