Professional Ratings

• 96 Jeb Dunnuck
  Moving to the reds, the 2016 Pinot Noir Bien Nacido is brilliant, with a rare sense of purity and class. Black raspberries, forest floor, spice, and ample salinity and minerality all give way to a vibrant, medium-bodied, pure, incredibly elegant Pinot Noir that does everything right. This cuvée was fermented entirely with native yeast and spent 16 months in one-third new French oak.
• 96 Tasting Panel
  First planted in 1973, these vines - and the vineyard - have become one of the most renowned in the world. The wines remain small production and continues to keep Santa Maria AVA on the map. The vineyard’s diversity in soil (shale, loams, uplifted marine volcanics and limestone) and its low 1.8 per-acre yield add to its dynamic complexity and intensity. Aged for 16 months in French oak. Aromas of rhubarb and earthy, peppered blackberry are significantly gratifying. Brilliant acidity to its core, lifted notes of cherry-cinnamon, black tea tannins and orange rind lead to a dry finish, stark and exciting.
• 96 Wine Enthusiast

  Intense cranberry and raspberry aromas meet with sultry baking spices, dried ginger, exotic wood and game on the nose of this bottling. The palate is intense in the same red fruits but layered in wild sagebrush and roasted quail, with bright acidity that is strong yet balanced.

• 92 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  The 2016 Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vineyard has a pale to medium ruby color and broody—but pretty—nose with tar, wild blackberries, red fruit sparks, turned earth and wet leaves with notions of spice in the background. Medium-bodied, it has a good core of earthy fruits with juicy freshness and grainy tannins, finishing long. This needs more time in bottle! And definitely a decant if you open it soon.
• 90 Wine & Spirits

  This brooding wine starts out dark, with reductive scents of tobacco and spice. With air, a soaring, juicy cherry note releases the wine from its structured underpinnings. The texture has the feel of suede; for duck confit.