Winemaker Notes
Aromas of dark cherry and herbs. A brambly and gritty texture with wild cherry, strawberry and tea leaf on the finish.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
One of the more elegant, perfumed releases from this team, the 2014 Pinot Noir 3 D gives up lots of framboise, toasted spice, dried flowers and incense in a seamless, silky, impeccably balanced profile. Possessing no hard edges, a lighter transparent ruby color, ultra-fine tannin and a great finish, it can be enjoyed today, or cellared for a decade.
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Wine Spectator
A supple, graceful style that builds on a core of spicy, tea-scented plum and blueberry flavors, gaining depth and nuance. Most impressive on the elegant, refined finish.
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.