Winemaker Notes
Wonderful aromatics of lavender, strawberry and wild berry fruit are riveting, with nuances of toast and vanilla. The aromatics of this wine continue through into the mouth, with flavors running all the way through to the finish. This wine has excellent structure, length and dimension. The tannins are smooth and creamy, leading to a very long, drawn out finish.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Offers a blend of maturity and youth, with vibrant maraschino cherry, rhubarb, fresh herb and underbrush flavors, supported by gutsy, earth-laced tannins. At an ideal drinking stage now, as the tannins show no sign of easing up. Enjoyable for its vitality.
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.