Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: It only took three wines for me to realize that Black Sheep Finds is the genuine thing. The husband and wife team of Peter Hunken and Amy Christine, MW are driven to let their wines speak for themselves. The 2016 Joy Fantastic Pinot Noir should excite pure food and wine lovers. TASTING NOTES: This wine is beautifully balanced and expressive. Its aromas and flavors of wild strawberries, savory spices, and dried earth should pair it superbly with a roast leg of lamb in a pomegranate, wine reduction sauce. (Tasted: February 11, 2019, San Francisco, CA)
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.