Foxen John Sebastiano Vineyard Pinot Noir 2014
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Enthusiast
Wine -
Parker
Robert
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Wine Enthusiast
Fresh and tart wild cherry and crushed cranberry meet with intriguing touches of fennel frond, mustard, rose hips, potpourri and tons of garrigue on the nose of this bottling. The palate packs vibrancy into each sip, redolent with flavors of tomato leaf, cherry tomato, kalamata olive, underripe raspberry, anise, bay leaf and even earthy mugwort. It conveys an extreme sense of place.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Spicy and complex, with lots of sour cherries, dried underbrush and crushed flowers, the 2014 Pinot Noir John Sebastiano Vineyard (aged 17 months in 50% new French oak) is medium-bodied, silky and polished on the palate. It has fine tannin and a clean, classy, balanced style that's already hard to resist.
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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.