Winemaker Notes
Fragrant esters of dried roses, cherry compote, blueberry, and brown spice with a hint of black tea. Intense fruit character of black currants, elderberry, and plum. Mineral essence with well integrated chalky tannins and a toasty finish.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2019 Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vineyard Block 42B comes from a block just above the 42A block yet is all Mount Eden clone. It saw 35-40% stems and spent 11 months in 50% new French oak. It too has an earthy, underbrush, and spice-driven profile backed up by beautiful ripe cherry, framboise, and blackberry fruit notes. It has slightly more precision and focus on the palate and is medium to full-bodied, with ample ripe, concentrated fruit, ripe tannins, and a great finish. It's another outstanding, character-filled Pinot Noir from this label.
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The Somm Journal
Made entirely from the Mt. Eden clone, this wine leads with red-plum pudding and marionberry plus generous, spicy toasted oak. Plump and flamboyant, ripe and full bodied, it will even delight Cab lovers at 14.9% ABV. Sourced from a block on the upper bench, it aged ten months in 40% new French oak.
Santa Maria Valley lies mainly in northern Santa Barbara County, with a small portion of it overlapping southern San Luis Obispo County. It is close to the Pacific, and runs east-west, which means warmer air in the eastern end draws cool air off the ocean in the west, and brings it through the valley. This effect, combined with abundant sunshine, lengthens the growing season. The longer growing season leads to long hang time, which promotes both ripeness and optimal acidity levels in grape berries. As early as the 1970’s, Santa Maria Valley was recognized as being a superior source of wine grapes, certainly including Chardonnay and Syrah. But arguably the top variety here is Pinot Noir.
Originally a domain primarily of growers, including the Miller Family of the justifiably famous Bien Nacido Vineyard, this AVA is now home to over 30 wineries. Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir consistently offers full flavors of cherry, strawberry and raspberry, often accompanied by notes of spice, cola, vanilla and earth. They show impressive balance and elegance, as well as great versatility with food.