Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Pinot Noir Julia's Vineyard comes from another cool site in the Santa Maria Valley and was raised in 46% new French oak. It has a more classic, evolved, complex style as well as lovely notes of forest floor, ripe cherry and raspberry fruits, dried spices, and dried orange peel. Seamless and elegant on the palate, with no hard edges, perfect balance, and ultra-fine tannin, it's a thrilling Pinot Noir that's going to keep for 10-15 years. Bravo!
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Pale to medium ruby in color, the 2016 Pinot Noir Julia's Vineyard has a broody nose of forest floor, black cherries, blackberries, cola, woodsmoke and dried herbs hints plus notes of stewed black tea leaves. Light to medium-bodied and concentrated with earthy dark fruits in the mouth, it has grainy tannins and good freshness, finishing long.
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Wine Enthusiast
Ripe red cherry meets with hints of dewy thyme, sagebrush and minty earth on the nose of this single-vineyard expression. The palate is loaded with herbal impact, as thyme and oregano provide depth to the pomegranate and raspberry flavors.
Santa Maria Valley lies mainly in northern Santa Barbara County, with a small portion of it overlapping southern San Luis Obispo County. It is close to the Pacific, and runs east-west, which means warmer air in the eastern end draws cool air off the ocean in the west, and brings it through the valley. This effect, combined with abundant sunshine, lengthens the growing season. The longer growing season leads to long hang time, which promotes both ripeness and optimal acidity levels in grape berries. As early as the 1970’s, Santa Maria Valley was recognized as being a superior source of wine grapes, certainly including Chardonnay and Syrah. But arguably the top variety here is Pinot Noir.
Originally a domain primarily of growers, including the Miller Family of the justifiably famous Bien Nacido Vineyard, this AVA is now home to over 30 wineries. Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir consistently offers full flavors of cherry, strawberry and raspberry, often accompanied by notes of spice, cola, vanilla and earth. They show impressive balance and elegance, as well as great versatility with food.