Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
One of the deeper colored efforts in the lineup, the 2017 Pinot Noir Atticus John Sebastiano Vineyard comes from a site located on the eastern edge of the Sta. Rita Hills. All destemmed and aged 15 months in 50% new barrels, it offers up notes of earthy black fruits, scorched earth, graphite, and forest floor. Concentrated and powerful on the palate, with impressive concentration, it stays tight and compact, with fine tannins and a great finish. Hide bottles for 2-3 years, and it should easily cruise for over a decade in cool cellars.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Pale to medium ruby-purple, the 2017 Pinot Noir Atticus John Sebastiano Vineyard, aged 15 months in 100% new French oak, is scented of boysenberry preserves, blueberry, dried tobacco leaf, charcuterie and pink peppercorn with cocoa, warm black cherries and blackberries plus hints of smoke, charcuterie and oodles of dried floral/potpourri perfume. Medium-bodied, it gives up intense, savory, broody fruits and spices, framed by firm but very ripe, pixelated tannins and great freshness to counter the dense flavor, finishing very long. This is powerful and refined. 170 cases were made. Paul Lato compares this to Volnay, if Sta. Rita Hills were Burgundy.
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.