Morgan Winery

When Dan Lee purchased the land in 1996 that was to become his Double L Vineyard, he planned to plant it to half Chardonnay, half Pinot Noir. But he soon realized that he could buy good Chardonnay; growing his own Pinot was more critical.

Now two-thirds of the vineyard is planted to a dozen Pinot Noir clones, ranging from Dijon clones to Pommard 4 and 5 to a Spanish clone. “We’re kind of using these 50 acres here as the spice rack,” he once told me.

Although Twelve Clones is a Santa Lucia Highlands blend, the “spice rack” of the Double L Vineyard is the source of 53 percent of the fruit. All that clonal diversity results in a wine with lots of nuance and complexity. It’s a really delicious Pinot, too, with pretty, plump cherry and strawberry fruit, nice spice and a long, supple finish. The wine spent 11 months in Burgundy barrels, of which 40 percent were new, and that oak is very well integrated with the rest of the flavors. I drank the Twelve Clones Pinot, which retails for $30, with a chunk of grilled ahi tuna – a terrific match.

Reviewed April 2, 2007 by Laurie Daniel.