Winemaker Notes
Bright red fruit with delightful aromas of earth, pine, clove, and cinnamon stick. Soft on the palate with juicy cranberry, cherry, and strawberry fruit notes. Subtle citrus adds nuance to a smooth finish.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A subtle and pretty pinot with a lovely middle palate with a fine dusty tannin texture to it. Medium body and succulent with a savory finish. Orange peel. Lovely finish. This is very tame.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Matured for 15 months in 52% new oak, the 2021 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills has a very pretty expression this vintage. The nose features detailed scents of blueberries, strawberries, Earl Grey tea leaves and forest floor, and the medium-bodied palate offers generous, perfumed fruit on a delicate frame, finishing long and layered.
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Wine Spectator
Tasty, with a large core of succulent cherry and blackberry fruit notes laced with a light briar note, all backed by subtle mesquite and savory elements on the racy 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.