Winemaker Notes
Red rose petal in color, lively and vivid aromatics of raspberry, black cherry, fresh cranberry sauce, blood orange, and nori waft from the glass. In the background, dried sage, basil powder, and talc weave alongside a hint of cinnamon and orange rind. The mouthfeel is polished with soft, bright acidity and focused, silky, assertive tannins on the finish that add gorgeous earthy components and complexity.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Pinot Noir Estate has a medium ruby color and scents of dried red cherries and pomegranate with accents of tobacco leaves and prosciutto. The medium-bodied palate is firm and grainy, finishing earthy.
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Wine & Spirits
A young wine with youthful dark fruit and tension, and a strident expression of whole-cluster spice, this is exceedingly savory in its aromatics, with scents of olive and olive leaf, smoldering tobacco and gorse. Its fruit is flavorful and dark, and shows some integration after three days open, but it needs age to merge with the savory elements.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2020 Melville Sta. Rita Hills Estate Pinot Noir is authentic and rewarding. TASTING NOTES: This wine offers aromas and flavors of savory spices, earthy notes, and black fruit. Pair it with slow-cooked lamb shanks. (Tasted: November 19, 2022, San Francisco, CA)
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.