Sanford La Rinconada Vineyard Barrel Select Pinot Noir 1999

  • 92 Wine
    Spectator
  • 90 Robert
    Parker
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Sanford La Rinconada Vineyard Barrel Select Pinot Noir 1999 Front Label
Sanford La Rinconada Vineyard Barrel Select Pinot Noir 1999 Front Label

Product Details


Varietal

Region

Producer

Vintage
1999

Size
750ML

Features
Boutique

Your Rating

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Somm Note

Winemaker Notes

The first vintage for the vineyard was the 1999 and it proved to be a blockbuster right out of the gate. The Dijon Clones produce a mouth-coating wine with great balance and an expansive finish.

Professional Ratings

  • 92
    A gorgeous Pinot, rich and focused, broad and supple, with tiers of spicy, sweet black cherry, anise, sage and mineral. Shows remarkable depth and complexity, with a finish that sails on.
  • 90
    The 1999 Pinot Noir La Rinconada Vineyard is a perplexing, but intriguing and potentially exceptional offering. It possesses an opaque ruby/purple color as well as an intense perfume of black fruits, underbrush, and earth. There is frightfully high acidity, but also amazing extract and richness presented in a super-concentrated style. This 1999 California Pinot Noir is reminiscent of the finest 1993 red Burgundies, a high acid vintage where those with tremendous concentration could turn out similar to the 1972s ... brilliant, complex, aromatic, and long-lived. It is too early to say that will happen with Sanford's La Rinconada cuvee, but I wouldn't bet against it given the raw material it possesses.
Sanford

Sanford Winery

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Sanford Winery, California
Sanford Winery Sanford Winery Winery Image
In Santa Barbara wine country, it all started with Sanford Winery. Recognizing a magical combination of climate and soil conditions, the Sanford & Benedict vineyard was plated in 1971, and the resulting wines are now the benchmark of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA. Pinot Noir has thrived in the Sta. Rita Hills ever since, and ranks among the best and most distinctive in the world. Sanford's estate vineyards - Rancho La Rinconada and Sanford & Benedict - lie within the 100 square mile AVA, and they rely exclusively on these vineyards for their luscious, signature Pinot Noir. The area owes its magic to an unusual east-west mountain valley that runs from the vineyards to the Pacific Ocean; ideal for cool-climate varietals.
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Let’s start with the obvious – Central Coast Pinot Noir is an incredibly broad category. This of course is because the Central Coast appellation is enormous, and it contains several stellar Pinot Noir regions within it, all of them kept cool by elevation or proximity to the ocean (or both). So we’ll break things down a bit with a brief look at each of these: Santa Cruz Mountains, Monterey and the Santa Lucia Highlands, Santa Maria Valley and Sta. Rita Hills. These are not the only Central Coast sources of good Pinot Noir, but they are the major ones. So let’s get started.

In the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation, just west of Silicon Valley, producers craft excellent Pinot in spite of serious challenges. The land is mountainous, rugged and can be foggy, the topsoil is thin and poor and yields tend to be low. Yet Pinots from the likes of David Bruce, Martin Ray, Mount Eden and Thomas Fogarty exhibit undeniable quality, along with bright red fruit, minerality, earth and herbal hints.

Just south lies the large Monterey appellation. Monterey Pinot Noir is grown in coastal areas, taking optimal advantage of the cooling effect of the Pacific. The most highly regarded of these is the Santa Lucia Highlands. Situated on hilly benchlands south of the city of Monterey, this central coast region relies on a long growing season, night and morning fog and consistent afternoon winds to produce world class Pinot Noir. Attributes include intense, rich fruit, subtle earthy notes, spice and a silky texture. Look for producers like Siduri, Kosta Browne, Talbott and Lucienne.

The Santa Maria Valley in northern Santa Barbara County (a section of it falls into southern San Luis Obispo County) is also a haven for quality Pinot Noir. A mere 15 miles from the Pacific, the valley runs east-west, creating a natural tunnel through which ocean breezes and fog flow. This effect lengthens the growing season and promotes both ripeness and development of acidity, lending Santa Maria Valley Pinots their characteristic full flavor, balance and elegance. The famous Bien Nacido Vineyard is located here, and notable producers include Cambria, Foxen, Byron and Au Bon Climat.

Finally, we arrive at the Sta. Rita Hills, also in Santa Barbara County. Located in the western part of the Santa Ynez Valley, it too benefits from an east-west orientation that leads to the same conditions mentioned above. Once again the result is extended hang time for the grapes, which can be tasted in the vibrant, ripe red fruits evident in these Pinots, along with dense coloration and an impression of richness and intensity. Try wines from producers like Ken Brown, Ampelos, Fess Parker and Melville.

As you can see, California’s Central Coast offers a wealth of options for any lover of Pinot Noir. Cheers!

LSB50823_1999 Item# 50823

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