Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
I loved the 2017 Pinot Noir Ashley's, a wonderfully complex, balanced, nuanced effort that offers loads of character. Coming from a vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills and aged 16 months in 63% new French oak, it offers classic notes of black raspberries, currants, ground herbs, forest floor, and earth. Medium to full-bodied, concentrated, with plenty of ripe tannins, it's a layered, complex Pinot Noir to enjoy over the coming 7-8 years.
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Wine Enthusiast
Aromas of black plum, sage, violet and a hint of tar combine for a dynamic and intriguing nose in this single-vineyard expression. Violets and lavender are prominent on the deftly balanced palate, with a pleasing plum flavor and a salt-and-pepper finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Pale ruby, the 2017 Pinot Noir Ashley's Vineyard opens with notes of granite, pipe tobacco and blueberry with cracked peppercorn, dried leaves, tree bark and bergamot—very savory and earthy but lovely! Light to medium-bodied, it has grainy tannins to support the earthy fruit layers plus juicy acidity and a long, nuanced finish.
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Wine & Spirits
There is a smoky whole-cluster note to this savory wine, with scents of tea, black cherry and licorice. It’s deep and satisfying; for grilled salmon.
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Wine Spectator
Finely textured, with rich notes of underbrush to the dried dark fruit, fig and olive flavors. Hints of coffee emerge on the lithe finish, showing shadings of dried savory herb.
Established in 1989, Fess Parker Winery is a multi-generational family owned and operated winery that has a rich heritage in Santa Barbara County. Fess Parker produces premium, small-lot, vineyard designated Burgundian varietals from the Sta. Rita Hills and Santa Maria Valley as well as Rhône varietals from their organically farmed, SIP Certified estate vineyard.
Outstanding fruit sources, including some of the finest vineyards in the county, coupled with skilled winemaking, led by Blair Fox, form the foundation for the winery’s success. Now three generations in, the Fess Parker Family is proud to carry on Fess’s legacy of wine heritage and hospitality in Santa Barbara.
Fess Parker Winery was proud to be named a Top 100 Winery in the World by Wine & Spirits Magazine in both 2022 and 2023.
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.