Winemaker Notes
The wine shows a brilliant ruby red translucence, and the aromatics are effusive with dewy blossoms and sweet red fruits. Concentrated scents of raspberry coulis and strawberry are laced with bergamot and black tea, then you find rose, sea salt and tarragon in the high layers. The palate gives satiny cherry and raspberry up front, then mushroomy savor builds while spicy tannin plays with a supple and salivating salinity.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2022 Pinot Noir Fe Ciega Devoto comes from heritage clones (Mt. Eden and Pommard) and was brought up much like the Discipulo. It has a deeper, more complex style in its ripe black cherry, spring flowers, and leafy herb-driven aromatics, and it’s medium-bodied, with a pure, elegant mouthfeel, beautiful tannins, and nicely integrated acidity.
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Vinous
The 2022 Pinot Noir Fe Ciega Devoto is sourced from heritage clones on the property. Dark-toned fruit, leather, dried herbs, cedar, mint and spice add to an impression of darkness. This somber, introspective Pinot needs time, but I imagine it will always be rather brooding.
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.