Winemaker Notes
Floral with darker stone fruits. Earthy, round texture with balanced structure. Slight Indian spices with a firm but not tight structure and finish. Will be even better with a little age in the bottle. This vineyard is finally over the growing pains of a young vineyard and the swan clone is coming around nicely. Even clusters, crop managed.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2014 Pinot Noir Sebastiano comes from a terrific site located on the eastern edge of the Sta. Rita Hills. It's a classic expression of this region and has plenty of ripe strawberry and cherry fruit intermixed with spice, dried flowers and earth. Medium-bodied, layered and sweetly fruited, with no hard edges, it's beautifully done and will keep for a decade or more.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Pale ruby-purple colored, the 2014 Pinot Noir John Sebastiano Vineyard has kirsch, Ceylon tea, spice box and potpourri notes with dusty earth and bouquet garni nuances. Light to medium-bodied, fine-boned and elegant in the mouth, the delicate flavors finish with a refreshing herbal lift.
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.