Winemaker Notes
The 2022 wine showcases the old vine elegance of S&B. The vineyard, with its thick trunks and deep roots, heroically withstood the massive 7-day heat dome of Labor Day 2022, with only minor effect. The wine maintains its typical smooth red fruited character, with perhaps a little more fruit in 2022, but with perfectly balanced acidity.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
The 2022 Sanford & Benedict Vineyard Pinot Noir seems to inhabit the qualities of both Radiant and Bentrock—tasted side by side, this wine reflects the generosity of the former with the structure and focus of the latter. There’s a real sense of breadth here and precision, with firm yet well-integrated tannins framing a brambly medley of red berry fruits: wild strawberries, redcurrants, cherries, raspberries, and pomegranate seed. Aromatic complexity unfolds with layers of rich brown baking spices, crushed stone minerality, flamed orange peel, and tangerine zest. There’s even a hint of rich molasses on the nose, adding depth to the aromatic profile. It’s the kind of wine you find yourself returning to again and again—compelling, layered, and deeply satisfying. The finish is exceedingly long, with tannins that build rather than recede—a promising sign for long-term ageing.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Beautifully transparent in both site and style, the 2022 Pinot Noir Sanford & Benedict Vineyard perfectly captures the understated classicism of this site and views it through Dragonette's elegantly confident winemaking style. A refined, floral, slightly chalky nose introduces a weightlessly rich, silky, graceful palate that takes on more power with aeration but never adds an ounce of weight. The finish is similarly ethereal while retaining its introverted nature, concluding with silty, floating tannins and soft, elegant acidity.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2022 Pinot Noir Sanford & Benedict Vineyard has ripe red and black raspberries, sappy herbs, rose, and floral notes, and it brings another level of purity, elegant, and seamlessness in its texture and tannin quality. This beauty blossoms with time in the glass and has tons to love. Fermented with 10% whole clusters and aged in 25% new French oak, drink bottles through 2034.
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Vinous
The 2022 Pinot Noir Sanford & Benedict Vineyard is elegant and lifted. Crushed flowers, red/purplish fruit, mint, rose petal and lavender all grace this exquisite, nuanced Pinot. The 10% stems are not at all evident. Readers will find a striking wine endowed with translucent finesse and tons of site character.
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Wine Spectator
Sleek and focused, this red delivers blood orange and damson plum notes, with a racy, tensile feel. Rooibos tea and sandalwood details chime through the finish alongside tangy minerality. Drink now through 2031. 350 cases made.
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.