Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
White-pepper and sour cherry aromas meet with mint balm on the fresh, lively and strongly stem-influenced nose of this bottling. It’s incredibly alive on the palate, with tons of eucalyptus, sagebrush and potting-soil flavors, set against a vibrant raspberry and light cherry backdrop. The buzz of Sichuan peppercorns coats the finish.
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Wine & Spirits
This comes from the westernmost reaches of Melville’s estate, a cool, windy eight-acre block that provided an extra-spicy 2017. It smells mulled and dark, with scents of smoke and licorice root and dark black-cherry flavors; then a pleasing mouthwatering tartness develops. It’s got energy in spades, and the stuff to cellar.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium ruby colored, the 2017 Pinot Noir Anna's Block has a nose of pipe tobacco, saline, sage and garrigue with wild blackberries, black cherries, oolong tea, cola, red cranberry and rhubarb. Medium-bodied and silky textured, it gives concentrated fruit, savory and spice layers with firm, grainy tannins and juicy freshness, finishing long and layered.
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.