Winemaker Notes
The 2017 Pinot Noir Sanford & Benedict is sensual, silky and impeccable in its balance. There is lovely nuance in the glass to match the wine's mid-weight, restrained personality. Sweet floral notes and purplish fruit linger in the glass.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2017 Racines Sanford & Benedict Vineyard Pinot Noir sails on the palate like a magic carpet ride in Beaune. TASTING NOTES: This wine exhibits lovely richness and persistence. Enjoy its complex aromas and flavors of red and black fruits with grilled, rosemary-accented lamb chops. (Tasted: October 28, 2019, San Francisco, CA)
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Decanter
The 2017 Racines Wine Co. Sanford & Benedict Vineyard Pinot Noir is sourced from three separate parcels, and includes a portion of the original, own-rooted vines planted in 1971. The nose is classic Sanford & Benedict, combining freshness of fruit with crushed stones and an airy texture. Flavours of orange rinds and red plum skins segue into a finish that takes a few seconds to really set in and show itself. As with the rest of the Racines wines, there is structure here for the long term and the wines should be cellared for a least a few years.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Bottled one week before I tasted it, the 2017 Pinot Noir Sanford & Benedict Vineyard is medium ruby and youthfully shy, giving up black and red cherry preserves, orange peel, warm earth, raspberry and rhubarb with cinnamon stick and dried herbs. Medium-bodied with intense, spicy fruits, it has firm, chalky tannins and seamless acidity, finishing long.
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.