Ojai Kessler-Haak Pinot Noir 2021
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Enthusiast
Wine -
Dunnuck
Jeb
Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Like most of their vineyards, Kessler-Haak benefits from the constant moderation that the nearby ocean provides. There’s a wild botanical fruitiness here, with scents of summer berry patch, a woodsy nutty note of cherry pit, then lilacs, coriander, and clove. Even with 50% whole clusters, the herbaceousness is fine and filigreed, carried by the powerful fruit. You find a vibrant wash of muddled raspberry and blueberry compote across the palate, then focused edges that are powdered with spicy tannins. There’s plenty immediacy, but also all the concentration and structure to age for years
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Juicy aromas of black raspberry floating atop lavender, violet and rose petals make for a very floral nose on this botting, with gray sage adding herbal nuance. The palate is bright, floral and very flavorful, showing more of the same elements as well as a richer dark-plum note.
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Jeb Dunnuck
I've always loved the Pinot Noir from this site, and Ojai's 2021 Pinot Noir Kessler Haak Vineyard is another beautiful wine. Redcurrants, darker raspberries, forest floor, earthy, iron, herbal nuances, and some subtle hints of flowers all emerge on the nose, and it's medium-bodied on the palate, with a beautiful sense of elegance. This is never the biggest or richest Pinot Noir in a vintage, yet it shines for its balance, complexity, and sheet charm.
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Adam had planted a vineyard in Ojai to Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc and had begun producing wine from that fruit in 1983. When the collaboration with Clendenen ended he concentrated all his attention on The Ojai Vineyard to further explore the infinite details of his craft.
Looking back over the last 25 years, one can see the development of The Ojai Vineyard came in three distinct phases. In the beginning it was lots of fun discovering the budding Santa Barbara County, experimenting with new plantings, new areas, and a wide selection of varietals; Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, and other Rhone varietals. Back in 1983 the vines were grown without much care in what was called a California sprawl. It took years to get growers to move towards progressive practices like drip irrigation and vertical trellising to improved wine grape quality.
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.