Lucia by Pisoni & Cattleya: A Group of Stupendous Wines

Not inexpensive, sorry.

The wines under consideration today are the products of a married couple who maintain separate wineries in distinct regions of California — Jeff Pisoni in the Santa Lucia Highlands of Monterey County, Bibiana Gonzalez Rave (Cattleya) northward in Sonoma County, primarily Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast. They operate at a high level of polish, style and eloquence, making, especially in their single-vineyard selections, wines that express a sense of place, of connection with the earth and varietal integrity. Yet for all the craft that goes into the fashioning of these wines, they convey a sense of intuition, of something improvised and untamed. I would consider them to be benchmark wines.