Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A big step up and a beautiful 2011 from the Santa Rita Hills, the 2011 Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Vineyard has a supple, seamless profile that’s hard to resist. Exhibiting plenty of sweet cherries, blackberry, spice, toast and hints of licorice, it flows onto the palate with a medium-bodied, rich and textured mouthfeel that keeps you coming back to the glass. Slightly hedonistic, with an upfront feel, it will delight over the coming 4-5 years. Drink now-2018.
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Wine Spectator
Intense and vibrant, with focused notes of rich, zesty raspberry puree, blackberry, black licorice and pomegranate, easing into the plush texture. Drink now through 2020. 600 cases made.
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.