Winemaker Notes
Kessler-Haak Vineyard is located in the northern valley of the Sta. Rita Hills next door to Clos
Pepe Vineyard. Planted in sandy soils, the fruit is usually very deep, well structured, and shows
a lot of depth and baking spice character.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Pinot Noir Kessler-Haak Vineyard is beautiful, and one of the most classic expressions of Pinot Noir in the lineup. Complex notes of strawberries, cherries, forest floor, spices and hints of earth all emerge from the glass and it's medium-bodied, beautifully balanced, elegant and silky on the palate. It has bright acidity, yet everything is in the right proportions, it has a good mid-palate and a great finish. Drink it anytime over the coming decade.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Pale to medium ruby-purple colored, the 2016 Pinot Noir Kessler-Haak Vineyard gives a fragrant nose of red roses, kirsch and raspberry pie over hints of underbrush, red plum preserves and spice cake. Medium-bodied, plush, ripe and opulent in the mouth, it has plenty of spicy red berry preserves flavors on offer and a pleasantly chewy finish.
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Wine Spectator
Juicy and refined, with rich flavors of dark cherry, dried meat and mineral. Shows vibrant spiciness midpalate, revealing Asian spice and forest floor accents. Drink now through 2021.
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.