Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
This is Gavin Chanin’s second vintage making his own wine from Sanford & Benedict, though he worked with the vineyard as early as 2004 when he was at Au Bon Climat. This comes almost exclusively from an own-rooted Mount Eden selection planted in 1971 on eroded chert and diatomaceous earth. In 2013, Santa Barbara’s oldest pinot noir vines grew a tight, monumental pinot noir with bracing acidity and tannic gravitas. Yet, miraculously, an abundance of fruit springs up out of the stony structure, vibrating with bright cranberry-red acidity and oceanic saltiness that fill the structure with cool, tensile flavor depth. It feels stony yet surprisingly lush. Give it five years or more in the cellar and watch its coltish energy turn into rich complexity.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
More lively and fresh, the 2013 Pinot Noir Sanford & Benedict Vineyard exhibits outstanding notes of sous bois, darker berry (cherries, black raspberries) and plenty of floral characteristics to go with a medium-bodied, focused and crisp style. It's certainly outstanding and like the La Rinconada, should evolve gracefully. The elevage here was 40% whole clusters and 16 months in 15% new French oak. As with all the wines here, it was bottled unfiltered.
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.