Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The biggest production item at Melville is the 2008 Pinot Noir Estate (5,525 cases). Readers looking for a top-notch Pinot Noir at a realistic price should check this wine out. Terrific raspberry and blackberry fruit intermixed with some boysenberry and underbrush notes jump from the glass of this deep ruby/purple-tinged wine. Medium to full-bodied, it is seriously packed with silky tannins and good vibrancy and delineation. This is an impressive wine made for those loving more of the black raspberry/boysenberry character of Pinot. It should drink well for 5-6 years.
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.