Winemaker Notes
Bright ruby with effusive aromas of crushed red cherry, cola, rubbed sage, and Mediterranean tapenade show on the nose of this first ever Santa Rita Hills AVA bottling for Donnachadh. Fresh acidity buoys tart cherry and red raspberry flavors from the start of the sip with notes of gentle black tea and earth joining on the elegant finish.
Complex without pretense, this is an approachable, food friendly wine that pairs easily with meat, fish, or veggies.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills, matured for 10 months in neutral oak, is the first appellation-wide Pinot from Donnachadh. Like the Chardonnay, this vintage was sourced entirely from the Donnachadh estate, although that may not be the case in the future. It has a pale ruby color and very pure, fragrant scents of cranberry, raspberry, strawberry, bergamot, tea leaves and herbs. The medium-bodied palate is finely chalky and wonderfully fresh, boasting concentrated red berry flavors, fine citrusy accents and a long, ethereal finish. This really stands out for its detail and expression—it's as if the volume was turned up yet the definition preserved.
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James Suckling
A precise, well-balanced and medium-bodied wine that's alive with tangy cherry and black tea flavors. Offers good complexity, light and lively tannins and a sense of tension and linearity.
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Wine Enthusiast
There’s a rustic tone to the nose of this bottling, with chaparral herbs and crushed rocks giving depth to the pomegranate fruit focus. The grippy palate is very textural with chalky tannins, as thyme and pomegranate slowly integrate. With time, this will sing even louder.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The reds follow suit, and the 2021 Pinot Noir Estate is juicy and lively, with medium-bodied aromas and flavors of bright cherries, dried herbs, leather, and earth. It's focused, balanced, has good depth, and plenty of character. It's going to put on a touch of weight with a year or two in the cellar.
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.