Winemaker Notes
The 2019 has begun drinking very well, right out of the gate, with super complex red and blue fruits, a touch of minerals, baking spices, fresh herbs and forest floor, along with great natural acidity. The wine is perhaps a bit more dense than the fresh, inviting 2018, but it is also layered and juicy with fantastic fruit that echoes on the long finish. Although young, the wine’s great freshness and lift provides delicious drinking already, with 8-10 years of aging potential as well. Only 550 cases of this wine were produced in 2019, and we expect this wine to be snapped up much faster than in past years.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Pale ruby, the 2019 Pinot Noir has bright cranberry and citrus aromas with nuances of tea leaves, saline, wood-smoke and dried earth. The light-bodied palate has supple, saline-laced raspberry and strawberry flavors with juicy acidity and a long, perfumed finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a fantastic appellation blend, allowing a slightly discounted peek at the delicious and dynamic Pinot Noirs that this winery is creating. Fresh aromas of raspberry and tarragon meet with potting soil on the nose, while the palate is snappy and tart with cranberry at first before opening toward juicier berry, flower and herb flavors.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The appellation 2019 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills is also terrific and in the same league as the 2018. From a mix of the single vineyards, it’s medium-bodied and beautifully pure, with a pretty, balanced, textbook style as well as notes of framboise, cherries, iodine, spice, and black tea. Aged 16 months in 10% new French oak, there are 500+ cases made and it’s well worth seeking out.
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Wine Spectator
Boasts bright cherry and raspberry coulis notes that race along with cut and drive, while red tea, bergamot and cinnamon notes peek in throughout. The long, silky finish has latent energy that lets the fruit linger prettily. Drink now
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.