Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Pinot Noir Sanford & Benedict Vineyard is scented of cranberries, blackberries and tangerine peel with nuances of Angostura bitters, wood smoke and tobacco leaves. The medium-bodied palate is concentrated, layered and perfumed, with a silky texture, mouthwatering acidity and lingering, detailed flavors defining the finish. Best After 2022
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2020 Pinot Noir Sanford & Benedict Vineyard is similarly hued and has a beautiful bouquet of red and black raspberries, spring flowers, scorched earth, and graphite. It's balanced, has perfectly integrated oak, freshness and richness, and a great finish.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
The oldest Pinot Noir Vineyard in Santa Barbara County, planted in 1972, is the source of this first-rate effort that shows off the brightness, transparency and uncanny grace for which the site is justly renowned. A decidedly complex wine in which concentrated red cherry and raspberry fruit merges with notes of dried flowers, dusty earth and slightly savory spice, it is fully ripe and light on its feet at one and the same time with the lively balance and vitality that are the hallmarks of skillfully made Sta. Rita Hills Pinots.
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.