A.P. Vin Clos Pepe Vineyard Pinot Noir 2016
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Wine
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Jeb
Dunnuck
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Elegant and minerally, with concentrated dark fruit flavors that are full of rich cocoa powder and creamy accents. The lusciously spiced finish features powerful slate and savory accents. Drink now through 2021.
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Jeb Dunnuck
From the Sta. Rita Appellation in Santa Barbara County, the 2016 Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Vineyard is all clone 115 aged 11 months in 50% new French oak. Black cherries, spice, underbrush, and earth all emerge from this dense, concentrated Pinot Noir that's holding things close to its vest. Showing more base notes and forest floor with time in the glass, give it another year or two of bottle age, and I suspect it will drink nicely through 2025.
Rating: 90+
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While managing to keep his day job during production of the first few vintages of A.P. VIN, it was in 2005 that Andrew decided to fully dedicate himself and his career to his passion for creating unique wines. Shortly thereafter, Andrew moved his production and winemaking from Lompoc to San Francisco, where he could tend to the wines closer to his home.
Today, A.P. VIN produces approximately 2,000 cases of vineyard-designate pinot noir and is focused on making wines of the highest quality, which Andrew believes starts in the vineyard. From the vineyard and row locations to the farming style of each grower, every element adds nuances and subtleties that result in a superior wine.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
A superior source of California Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills is the coolest, westernmost sub-region of the larger Santa Ynez Valley appellation within Santa Barbara County. This relatively new AVA is unquestionably one to keep an eye on.
The climate of Sta. Rita Hills is a natural match for Chardonnay and Pinot noir, thanks to the crisp ocean breezes and well-drained, limestone-rich calcareous soil. Here, grapes ripen just enough, while retaining brisk acidity and harmonious balance.