Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This new project from Steve and Chrystal Clifton from Palmina and formerly Brewer-Clifton is exciting and tasty. Plump red cherry, fine-grained clove, allspice, nutmeg, sage, kola nut and a touch of chile spice show on the supple but focused nose. Tart cranberry, sour cherry and peppery sage pop on the energetic palate.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2013 La Voix Winery Satisfaction Pinot Noir exudes elegance. In a world with too many heavy-handed versions of this grape variety, it is a pleasant relief to discover a Pinot Noir that is pure and bright. This wine offers red fruit, savory herbs, and a touch of earth. I would pair it now with an herb-crusted leg of lamb. (Tasted: February 8, 2017, San Francisco, CA)
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.