Winemaker Notes
Aromas and flavors of black cherry, sage, boysenberry, tarragon, red plum, clove, lavender, nutmeg, baker’s chocolate, forest floor vanilla and a cigar box.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Revealing a semi-opaque ruby hue, the medium-bodied 2019 Pinot Noir Ashley's is classic Sta. Rita on the nose with its smoky forest floor, red plums, spice, leather, and subtle marine-like nuances. Textured, medium-bodied, and nicely balanced, it has plenty of fruit as well as complexity. It too will keep for 5-7 years.
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Vinous
The 2019 Pinot Noir Ashley's is a juicy, exuberant wine. Super-ripe red cherry fruit, sage, tobacco, cedar and mint all soar out of the glass. I would give the 2019 a few years to come together as the tannins are pretty imposing. Whole clusters (25%) add nuance but without overpowering the wine. This is so nicely done.
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Wine Enthusiast
Clean and approachable aromas of cherry and spice cake make for a familiar and delicious entry to the nose of this wine. The palate shows darker cherry flavors as well as plenty of clove and mace, surrounding a mouthfeel that is very full without being too rich.
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Wine & Spirits
Beneath the dark spice of a whole-cluster fermentation, with its olive, black tea and gingerbread scents, there’s a pleasing red-fruited lift to the flavors, taut and lively. Give the wine time in the cellar for the fruit and the spice to knit.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Pale ruby-purple, the 2019 Pinot Noir Ashley's Vineyard offers alluring rhubarb and raspberry with tones of wood smoke, dusty earth and bergamot. The palate is medium-bodied with a gentle chalkiness to temper the sweet fruits and uplifting freshness on the spicy finish. Best After 2022
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Wine Spectator
This version has a juicy richness to the dark cherry and plum tart flavors, which are flanked by loamy and forest floor notes. The ripe, creamy finish features cocoa accents. Drink now
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.