The heights

What does the high bench keep when the yield stays low? Las Alturas means the heights. The vineyard is one of the highest plantable sites in the Santa Lucia Highlands of Monterey County. This bottle is the 2024 Pinot Noir from that bench.

The label prints Santa Lucia Highlands and Monterey County. Wine-Searcher places the 2024 in the Santa Lucia Highlands. The soil under the vines is Gloria sandy loam. Cool coastal days and steady sun are the weather the house describes, and the clones were chosen slope by slope.

The winery shop lists Las Alturas at $55. The card on that shop is still the 2023. This bottle is the 2024, and the winery price used here is that $55. Our bottle is $40. Six are $240 and twelve are $480.

A high bench in Monterey County

The bench was planted so each slope got the clone that suited it. Yields are kept low on purpose, to hold the intensity those clones can give. That is the house account of Las Alturas, and it is why this Pinot is the one from the heights rather than from the valley floor.

Santa Lucia Highlands fruit is the power in the Belle Glos lineup. The same vineyard is one of the three coasts in the anniversary bottle. This listing is the vineyard Pinot itself, vintage 2024, not the commemorative blend.

Same cellar, different ground

The 2024 went through Joe Wagner's Belle Glos cellar. Picks wait until the canes turn copper. Dry ice meets the fruit in the vineyard. Stems come off before the cold soak, because the house does not want green tannin in the wine.

Fermentation stays cold for three to four weeks. That longer cold spell is the method behind the supple tannin and the deep color. Barrels are steamed before they are filled. The wine is not diluted, chaptalized, or acidified.

Intensity from a low yield

The glass should taste like a high, cool bench. Small crops and Gloria sandy loam are the facts the vineyard page gives. The style across Belle Glos is fruit-forward and rich, and Las Alturas is asked to show the bench inside that style.

Wine-Searcher, checked on 2026-10-29, put the U.S. market low at $34.60 and the average at $42.58. This bottle is $40. Members type FEATURED20 at checkout for an extra 20 percent off. The corner is the low, the average, and our price.

The heights, by Joe Wagner

Belle Glos is pronounced bell gloss. Joe Wagner named it in 2001 for Lorna Belle Glos Wagner. The film here is the brand overview on the winery's own YouTube channel. It is the house introducing the Pinot, the wax, and the vineyards.

Add the 2024 Belle Glos Las Alturas Pinot Noir at $40. The winery price is $55, the figure on the shop for Las Alturas. Six bottles are $240 and twelve are $480. Type FEATURED20 at checkout for an extra 20 percent off.

Belle Glos, Brand Overview. The winery's own film.

At the table

Lamb chops are the plate for a Pinot with this much bench behind it. A browned crust and rosemary meet fruit that was cropped low on purpose. Rest the chops. Pour the 2024 when the juice hits the platter.

Mushroom risotto is the second plate. The creamy rice and seared mushrooms give the wine's richness a soft counter, and the acid keeps the bowl from going dull.