Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Pale ruby-purple, the 2020 Pinot Noir Sanford & Benedict has earthy aromas of tar, mushroom, wet tobacco, burnt orange, laurel and wild berries, gaining more aromatic layering as it spends time in the glass. The medium-bodied palate is grainy and refreshing with intense fruits and a fan of earthy, spicy nuances across the finish. Best After 2022
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2020 Pinot Noir Sanford & Benedict Vineyard reveals a translucent ruby color to go with a gorgeous perfume of mulled strawberries, white flowers, spice, and hints of chalky minerality. Pure, medium-bodied, flawlessly balanced, and elegant on the palate, this is one of those wines that grows on you with time in the glass. It's brilliant today and will be brilliant in a decade.
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.