2024 Lucy Pico Blanco

THE PLACE: Pico Blanco is Monterey. Fruit is sourced from two viticultural areas within the county: the Santa Lucia Highlands and Arroyo Seco. The result is a wine with great representation of Monterey climate and geology. Climate for the county is predominately influenced by the famous Monterey Bay. The Monterey Bay is a large funnel, sending prevailing ocean breezes into the regions. This brings cool fog and air throughout the growing season.

The Santa Lucia Highlands get the brunt of this wind, and also provide beautiful east-sloping hillsides for the vines. The soils of the Santa Lucia Highlands are decomposed granite—a rare find in coastal California that was brought here when part of the Sierra Nevada mountain range was sheared off and then sent northward by the San Andreas Fault activity.

Arroyo Seco sits almost dead center between the parallel Santa Lucia and Gabilan mountain ranges that funnel wind through the Salinas Valley, thus bringing intense winds and fog. The geology represents an ancient riverbed with layers of deposited boulders and gravelly loam soil, which Pico Blanco conveys.

WINEMAKING: Pico Blanco represents an early time of Monterey County grapegrowing when the region was originally recognized as a place for cool-climate grape varieties. With the historical significance and traditional style of winemaking that the Pisoni Family prefers, purity and complexity continues to be the focus. Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc are hand-sorted and carefully pressed to moderate the extraction and phenolics derived from the grape skins. 100% neutral barrels are used for fermentation to obtain purity of fruit and gain texture. Fermentation is carried out only by native yeast to uphold our philosophy of winemaking and also strive for the most complex flavors and fermentation. This wine was bottled without any fining.

TASTING NOTES: The 2024 Pico Blanco introduces a new element of Monterey County with fruit from the historic Chalone Vineyard. With this addition, the Lucy Pico Blanco portrays two important regions and terroirs of Monterey County: Pinot Blanc from the ancient limestone deposits of Chalone and Pinot Gris from the decomposed granite found in the Santa Lucia Highlands. This wine starts with layers of fresh minerality and bright floral notes. Pale straw in the glass, the wine is tightly-packed and focused, but slowly unfolds to show scents of fresh apricot, lemon blossoms, and lychee. These notes burst to life with a refreshing wave of acidity. Crisp and bright, this is a wine that is light on its feet and will pair well with many seafood dishes. Zippy acidity with a citrus finish gives this wine a beautiful snapshot of California’s coastal Monterey County.

The Pisoni Family has always been committed to making exceptional wines, and Lucy allows them to combine this passion with philanthropy. The Pisoni family donates one dollar of each bottle of Lucy Pico Blanco sold to Ocean Conservancy. Since inception, the combined Lucy family of wines has generated over $250,000 in contributions.