Winemaker Notes
Evocative and precise. The 2022 is dark, ample and beautifully focused from top to bottom. Exotic, vibrant red fruits, white pepper and dried flower aromas inform the palate that is supple and serious. This will pair well with light or heartier dishes and although charming now, it will continue to improve over several years.
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
From two iconic vineyards, La Rinconada and Sanford & Benedict, this red aged II months in French oak speaks of fresh earth, bright cherry, and a pinch of white pepper. A cascade of red flowers, rooibos tea, and hot cinnamon candy adds to its graceful charm.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills leads with composed red cherry, rhubarb and spice box aromas. The palate is pure, fresh and well-balanced, leading to a straightforward, understated finish that beautifully summarizes the two stellar vineyard sites it hails from.
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Wine Spectator
Fresh mulberry and cherry fruit brings nice lift, with light iris and rose petal notes darting through on the racy finish. Drink now through 2026. 8,700 cases made.
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.