Winemaker Notes
The 2020 El Jabali Pinot Noir presents a dark ruby color in the glass and showcases the expressive terroir of Alma Rosa's estate vineyard. This stunning wine has complex aromas, with notes of rose petals, lilac, black tea and rhubarb, followed by strong notes of red fruit, tart dark cherries, raspberries, a hint of cocoa and white pepper. Chalky tannins are well integrated and balanced, giving this gorgeous Pinot Noir a long, mouthwatering finish.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Pinot Noir El Jabalí Vineyard was made with 12% whole clusters and matured for 16 months in 55% new French oak. It offers lots of inviting spices on the nose, with dried cherries and cranberries complemented by cinnamon, licorice, amaro, saline and graphite. The medium-bodied palate is seamless and chalky with juicy acidity and a very long, spicy finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2020 Pinot Noir El Jabali Vineyard is slightly more exotic, with classic Sta. Rita Hills salinity and marine nuances as well as ripe red and black fruits, notes of chocolaty herbs, medium to full body, beautiful balance, and a great finish. It's another ripe, textured, balanced wine in the lineup. It has enough structure to warrant a year of bottle age as well.
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Wine Spectator
Well-built, with a solid core of blackberry and mulberry fruit flavors that move along steadily, inlaid with light briar, wood spice and anise notes. The finish is marked with energetic, nicely integrated acidity. Drink now through 2028. 525 cases made.
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Wine Enthusiast
This bold bottling begins with oak smoke, dark cherry and brown spice aromas on the nose. The palate is packed with charred oak and roasted cherry flavors, with unique hints of iodine and blood sausage adding complexity.
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.