Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
I was blown away by the 2016 Pinot Noir Fe Ciega, a dead ringer for a Grand Cru Red Burgundy. Black cherries, black raspberries, sous bois, earth, and loads of spice notes all flow to a medium-bodied, richly textured, concentrated effort that does everything right. I like it today, but it will be even better with another year or so in bottle and keep for 10-15 years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Tart cherry, crushed red and purple flowers and hints of soil and moss make for an extremely impressive nose on this bottling by Adam Tolmach. There is great structure and heft to the palate, where dark-plum, mulberry, pine-forest and tea-leaf flavors converge into a clean taut finish.
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.