Winemaker Notes
The fragrance of this wine is powerful and stirring, with a real Californian thing going in its scents of bay laurel and flowering purple sage, along with berry medley and exotic spice aromatics. The palate is quite focused initially, with brisk purply red fruits channeled by stemmy tannins that evoke Earl Grey tea. With air it takes on more radiance along with suave and saline texture, and it caries on with great length into a savory finish.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
I also loved the 2018 Pinot Noir Kessler Haak Vineyard, which has a more exotic, gamey, nutty character that fleshes out with air, showing beautiful red and black fruits, medium to full-bodied richness, a layered mouthfeel, and a great finish. This cuvée sees a touch more stems (50%) and it shows, so give bottles 2-3 years in the cellar. It's a gorgeous, complex Pinot Noir that will evolve for 10-15 years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Pinot Noir Kessler Haak Vineyard, made with about 50% whole cluster, has a medium ruby-purple color and broody blackberries, woodsmoke and dried tobacco leaves with notes of laurel, forest floor and cola. It's silky in the mouth and expands slowly to reveal its broody flavor layers, and it finishes seamlessly fresh and long.
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.