Winemaker Notes
Gavin Chanin describes 2021 as a mostly cool, sunny year, with cool weather also during flowering that resulted in smaller berries with thicker skins. The wines are gorgeous. Pinot Noirs typically see 35-50% whole clusters, but stems are rarely a pronounced signature. The Chanin wines stand out for their understated finesse and elegance.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
The nose of this bottling leans into Old World elements of dried plum and berry with subtle hints of game. The palate brings fresher, richer cherry flavors to the party, with toasted sage and more charcuterie touches as well. It’s easy to like, yet quite complex.
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Wine & Spirits
There’s always tension in the best of Gavin Chanin’s pinot noirs, the fruit unabashedly Californian in its breadth and generosity, tamed by a sense of the wind and fog glancing off Bien Nacido’s slopes. This wine has an angular earthiness revealed when a cool climate pinot is harvested at the exact right time. It carries its sense of place in its texture, a humus-like savor and mineral firmness. The dark-cherry flavors are reticent, dusty and fine, with a saturation that contributes to the wine’s exceptional length.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2021 Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vineyard is much more masculine and mineral-driven, which unquestionably comes from the site. Crushed stone, marine-like nuances, red and blackberries, spring flowers, and iron all emerge on the nose, and it's medium-bodied, with a concentrated, focused, structured style and terrific length on the finish. Give it a year or so and enjoy through 2031.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vineyard has savory aromas of oolong tea leaves and underbrush that complement briar fruit. The medium-bodied palate is chalky and refreshing with powerful, earthy fruit and a singular, black tea-laced finish.
Santa Maria Valley lies mainly in northern Santa Barbara County, with a small portion of it overlapping southern San Luis Obispo County. It is close to the Pacific, and runs east-west, which means warmer air in the eastern end draws cool air off the ocean in the west, and brings it through the valley. This effect, combined with abundant sunshine, lengthens the growing season. The longer growing season leads to long hang time, which promotes both ripeness and optimal acidity levels in grape berries. As early as the 1970’s, Santa Maria Valley was recognized as being a superior source of wine grapes, certainly including Chardonnay and Syrah. But arguably the top variety here is Pinot Noir.
Originally a domain primarily of growers, including the Miller Family of the justifiably famous Bien Nacido Vineyard, this AVA is now home to over 30 wineries. Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir consistently offers full flavors of cherry, strawberry and raspberry, often accompanied by notes of spice, cola, vanilla and earth. They show impressive balance and elegance, as well as great versatility with food.