Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
This is a very dry Pinot Noir, lowish in alcohol by current standards. It's not showing particularly well now, with a sour cherry and cranberry tartness that makes the mouth water. You can chew on this wine and it reveals plenty of mushroomy, meaty complexities, but it remains aloof and tough. Give it at least five years in a good cellar.
Pinot Noir is the second-most planted grape in Santa Barbara County, just behind Chardonnay. It thrives in cooler areas of the region, namely in the of the Sta. Rita Hills, which is part of Santa Barbara’s larger Santa Ynez Valley sub-appellation. Thought for decades to be too cool for viticulture, Sta. Rita Hills began to gain notoriety in the 1970’s, thanks to the pioneering work of Richard Sandford and Michael Benedict, among others.
Santa Barbara Pinot Noir dances across the palate with vivid red fruit and spice. Precision, bright acidity, elegance and fruit-driven silkiness make Santa Barbara Pinot delightfully enjoyable, whether on their own or with a variety of dishes.
ONEMAPN11_2011 Item# 125483