Winemaker Notes
Aromas of pomegranate, white tea and raspberry. Flavors of dried fig, white truffle, and ripe cherry. The texture is savory.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Lovely and bright aromas of red fruit and rose petals are lifted by minty herbs and peppery spices on the nose of this bottling. A ripe cherry core enlivens the delicious palate, which is refreshing and engaging through zesty waves of green herb and black spice.
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James Suckling
A suave, composed and subtle wine with great mellow fruit, spices and woodsy, savory accents. Medium-bodied, moderately tannic, aged in neutral barrels that Greg Brewer calls "exhausted." Hardly soft, though, it is alive with fresh acidity and lifted by fine-grained tannins.
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Wine Spectator
This is generous in feel, with a plump edge to its cherry and damson plum fruit compote notes, offering hints of tobacco, warm earth and singed herbs that stay in the background. The light-handed toast lets everything knit easily through the finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills is a lovely summation of the Brewer-Clifton style. It leads with a balanced array of bright fruits, lifted herbal flourishes and spice-driven overtones. The palate straddles fruit-forward succulence and focused, driving precision, concluding with a charmingly refreshing, saline-tinged 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.