Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2020 Pinot Noir Victor Francis Peake Ranch Vineyard comes from the eastern, warmer side of the appellation and was destemmed and brought up in 75% new French oak. It has plenty of ripe cherry and framboise-like fruit as well as medium to full body, notes of dried herbs, flowers, and loamy earth, silky tannins, terrific overall balance, and one heck of a great finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From 11-year-old vines, the 2020 Pinot Noir Victor Francis Peake Ranch Vineyard has a pale ruby color, and its aromatics segue from cranberry and black raspberry to tones of licorice, flint, mossy bark, bergamot and mushroom powder. The medium-bodied palate is equally dynamic, its detailed flavor layers continually blossoming as it glides through the mouth. It has a powerful yet supple frame, seamless freshness and a tremendously long finish. Best After 2022.
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.