Winemaker Notes
The 2018 Radian is deep and complex as usual, with concentrated red fruits, exquisite minerals, and a good solid backbone of herb-edged tannins; however, in 2018 it is so far showing a particularly fresh acidity which seems to lift the fruit up and let it slowly descend upon the palate, seemingly like a billowy parachute. Extremely Limited. Only 450 cases produced.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This is an incredibly dynamic, complex and yet utterly delicious bottling. Aromas of roasted cherry, iodine, iron, bay leaf, sage and mushroomy meats envelop the nose. The palate is rich in texture and flavors yet fierce with acidity, combining opulent berries, toasted sage and gamy meats into a head-spinning sip.
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Jeb Dunnuck
One of the darker hued wines in the lineup, the 2018 Pinot Noir Radian Vineyard is tighter and more wound up, with a laser-like sense of precision in its white pepper, crushed stone, and tart stone and black raspberry fruits. The purity of fruit here is top notch, as is the overall balance, and this medium-bodied 2018 is going to benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age and cruise for a decade.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
Judiciously placed oak and a distinctive streak of minerals lie just behind this beautifully composed wine’s very deep, perfectly ripened, cherry and raspberry fruit, and, at every turn, freshening acidity imbues it with plenty of life. It is medium-bodied and quite firm in balance without drifting to tartness, and, if approachable now despite showing a fine tannic spine, it is a structured and eminently ageworthy Pinot Noir whose elegant best lies some half-dozen years in the future.
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.