Winemaker Notes
Blend: 100% Pinot Noir
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
Aromas of hibiscus, lemon, iron and strawberry follow through to a medium to full body with very fine tannins that melt into the wine. Lovely freshness. Succulent and juicy. Drink now or hold.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2021 Pinot Noir Sanford & Benedict Vineyard comes from a great site located on the southern side of the Sta. Rita Hills. Its medium ruby hue is followed by a pure, medium-bodied, incredibly elegant Pinot Noir offering red cherry and strawberry-like fruit, some leafy herb and floral nuances, nicely integrated tannins, and outstanding length. As with all the wines here, the winemaking is impeccable, and this beauty will benefit from 1-3 years and evolve for a decade in cold cellars.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Matured for 16 months in 20% new French oak, the 2021 Pinot Noir Sanford & Benedict Vineyard takes plenty of air to reveal cranberry, blackberry, oolong tea leaves, tar and licorice aromas. The medium-bodied palate has complex layers of fruit, spice, flint and bitters, a seamlessly fresh, silky structure, and a long finish with floral character.
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Wine Spectator
This feels both open and tightly knit, with a lithe, racy frame holding a core of gently mulled black and red cherry and raspberry fruit together, while sassafras, sweet tobacco and singed cedar elements flitter around a zip of minerality on the finish. Distinctive.
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.