Winemaker Notes
Chanin Wine Co. is dedicated to crafting wines from Santa Barbara County where cool coastal winds, diverse marine based soils and a long growing season provide an exciting and unique environment for Burgundian wines.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills is medium to deep ruby-purple in the glass and lusciously fruited on the nose, with boysenberry and blueberry preserves, warm black cherries, cocoa, nutmeg, tons of floral perfume and earthy hints. The medium-bodied palate is generous, spicy and ripe with silky tannins and integrated freshness, finishing long on a chocolaty note. Bold, luscious and delicious! 1,433 cases produced.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The value play from Chanin, the 2017 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills saw 15% stems and 15 months in 15% new French oak, which is the same treatment as the more expensive releases. Black cherries, black raspberries, smoked earth, and underbrush notes all emerge from the glass, and it's rounded, medium-bodied, and beautifully textured. It's well worth seeking out, and I'd happily drink a bottle.
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.