Winemaker Notes
This Pinot Noir is bright and cheery with aromas and flavors of lifted red berry fruits, red plums and Bing cherry, alongside notes of ripe nectarine and golden peach. Layers of sweet baking spice notes come through from the well-integrated oak, with nuances of cinnamon and clove, all framed by a lithe texture with vibrant acidity, great balance and a lengthy mouthwatering finish. This Pinot has substance and complexity, making it very appealing to drink now, and also promises much more to come.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Lovely clarity to this, with cranberry, citrus and hibiscus in the nose. Medium-bodied with fine tannins that give the wine a creamy texture and subtle, focused fruit on the finish. Will age well in a elegant way.
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Wine Enthusiast
Cherry compote, fresh strawberry and light mint aromas are joyous and hedonistically pleasing on the nose of this bottling. A more powerful herbal edge shows on the palate, where wild thyme gives nuance to that ripe strawberry core.
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Wine Spectator
Ripe and solidly built but still comes off as lithe and beguiling, featuring a core of gently steeped red and black cherry fruit flavors, which unwind slowly as bergamot, rose water and wood spice notes swirl through. Lovely. Drink now
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Blended from several blocks of this large vineyard, Etude's 2019 Pinot Noir Fiddlestix Vineyard offers up bright cherries and a hint of celery seed. It's medium to full-bodied, tart, taut and mouthwatering, with a silky-textured finish.
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.