Credit: Morét-Brealynn Wines
We’ve been tasting Morét Brealynn’s wines since her maiden vintage three years ago. They keep getting better, and they never disappoint. The 2023 vintage is no exception. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to be sourcing grapes from one of California’s top growers, Jim Pratt, and to have Adam Lee, one of the country’s top Pinot Noir winemakers, providing technical advice. We reviewed a couple of these wines earlier. The excellent Lakeview Vineyard Pinot Noir was highly recommended in our 2024 Holiday Gift Guide. We also earlier reviewed the Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir Rosé; while the 2023 vintage is sold out, the 2024 will be arriving soon. Based on Morét’s track record with this wine, we recommend buying this excellent value rosé as soon as it’s released.
The Wines
Morét-Brealynn 2023 Rosé of Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands ($28) 92 We’ve tasted hundreds of wines for our articles and reports on rosé, and this one is among the most charming and distinctive. It’s (thankfully) the opposite of the vanishingly pale, lightly flavored rosés produced around the world today. This vivacious wine has color, bouquet, flavor, and is still bone dry! The nose reveals effusive red berries, while the palate is redolent of tart red cherries and raspberries. Great for sipping well chilled but with the substance to pair with grilled chicken or tacos. Sourced from two of Santa Lucia Highlands premiere vineyards and fermented and aged in neutral French oak.
Morét-Brealynn 2023 Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast ($50) 91 This softly textured, easy drinking Pinot Noir opens with a sweet perfume of dark berries and a hint of sliced mushrooms. It’s suave, broad and mouth filling with a lightly tart mid-palate and good concentration of dark cherry fruit. It’s one of those wines that you can’t put down [but don’t tell that to the Surgeon General!] 14.1% alc.
Morét-Brealynn 2023 Pinot Noir Russian River Valley ($50) 93 A very appealing, well-priced Russian River Valley Pinot. Complex bouquet of dark cherry, smoky underbrush and a hint of wild herbs. Precise on the palate with good depth of flavor enhanced by citrusy acidity; focused finish with extract of ripe fruit. 14.4% alc.
Morét-Brealynn 2023 Pinot Noir Lakeview Vineyard Russian River Valley ($72) 93+ Morét-Brealynn’s Lakeview Vineyard Pinot is an elegant beauty! Reveals a scintillating floral bouquet of lavender and dark fruit. The silky, precise palate shows integrated fruit and savory flavors, finishing with firm tannins that suggest a little aging will take this wine to the next level. Includes some whole clusters. 14.4% alc.
Morét-Brealynn 2022 Zinfandel Russian River Valley ($55) 93 Medium dark red. This is Morét’s newest wine made from the Jensen Vineyard’s 75-year-old vines, and it’s an excellent rendition of California Zinfandel. It opens with scents of red berries, underbrush and spice. It’s mouth filling with a lively freshness, silky mouth feel and round tannins, finishing with persistence. We hope Morét continues to source fruit from this old vineyard. 14.4% alc.
Source : https://i-winereview.com/blog/index.php/2025/01/14/moret-brealynns-splendid-new-releases/
