Winemaker Notes
Deep maroon in color. Hints of cherry cola, dusty earth, blueberry and tar. Structured on the palate and fruit forward with hints of bramble.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Red cherry compote, earthy herbs and a hint of oak show on the nose of this bottling. The medium-bodied palate offers delicious cherry, raspberry-sorbet and red-currant jam flavors, with a touch of wild herbs on a very soft mouthfeel.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Moving to the single vineyard Pinot Noirs, the 2017 Pinot Noir Fiddlestix Vineyard is a blend of clones 667, 777, and Pommard and was completely destemmed and spent 15 months in 50% new French oak. It offers a big nose of black raspberry and cassis fruits intermixed with plenty of toasted spice, new leather, scorched earth, and background oak. It's a big, ripe, bruiser of a Pinot Noir that has good acidity and outstanding length. It should show more integration and balance with a year in bottle.
Rating: 90(+)
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.