Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Ethereal aromas of oak duff, rose hips, forest floor and crunchy red berries before a palate of impressive pliancy, concentration and elegance. This is beautifully structured, minerally and long, with flavors of red tea, hibiscus, cranberries, pomegranates, cherry pits and Earl Grey tea.
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Jeb Dunnuck
From the Zotovich Vineyard on the southern side of the Sta. Rita Hills and aged 17 months in 65% new French oak, the 2023 Pinot Noir Seabiscuit is translucent ruby and very floral and spicy, with a beautiful core of mulberry and raspberry fruits, rose, and smoky herb nuances. It's gorgeous on the palate as well, with a fresh, focused mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and a great finish. It's one of the fresher, more chiseled, focused Pinots in the lineup from Paul and is going to cruise for a decade in cold cellars.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2023 Pinot Noir Seabiscuit Zotovich Vineyard is a beautiful representation of the Sta. Rita Hills' northern corridor. It leads with a dark-fruited, brooding bouquet that gradually unfurls an increasingly complex array of forest floor, tobacco leaf and citrus rind aromas further lifted by marine-driven top notes. The palate emphasizes a lacy, ethereal texture with a distinctly high-toned energy, beautifully juxtaposing the more punchy and saturated Drum Canyon bottling from further east in the same sector of Sta. Rita Hills. It concludes with a subtly juicy, succulent finish framed with refined, saline-laced tannins, and it feels a touch buttoned up relative to how it could evolve in the cellar. Rating: 94+
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Vinous
The 2023 Pinot Noir Zotovich Vineyard Seabiscuit is a lighter, brighter, nervier wine in the context of the house style. Iodine, garrigue, red berries and light cranberry tones open into a delicate frame, accented by peppery grip on the close. This feels very old school for Paul Lato, but it works.
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.