Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Coming from a selection of estate fruit (75% Babcock and 25% Bentrock) and aged 18 months in a third new French oak, the 2013 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills is ripe and layered, with lots of black cherry, plum, spice, pepper and a touch of leather. This beauty is medium to full-bodied, has outstanding purity and a big finish. The focus here is on fruit and it will be a total crowd-pleaser over the coming 4-6 years.
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.