Winemaker Notes
Showcasing classic Sta. Rita hills characteristics, Rusack Reserve Pinot Noir is a great example of the outstanding terroir-driven wines that this area can produce. Enticing aromas of bright red cherries, red raspberries and cola jump from the glass while, on the palate, flavors of black cherry and cinnamon blend with velvety tannins for an elegant, silky mouth feel.
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
Sourced from the John Sebastiano (70%) and Fiddlestix (30%) vineyards, this pedigreed red saw 11 months of aging in French oak. It’s vibrant and fresh, with a hint of cinnamon and spice that keeps the liveliness going. A delicious floral tone of wild strawberry is unearthed on the finish.
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Wine Enthusiast
Lovely aromas of fresh cherries and plums meet with star anise on the elegantly delicious nose of this blend of John Sebastiano and Fiddlestix vineyards. There's a smoke tone to the sip, but it's layered through strawberry, cranberry, cracked pepper and caramel-drizzled toast flavors.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The similarly colored 2017 Pinot Noir Reserve was brought up in slightly more new oak (40%) and offers notes of ripe red fruits, forest floor, truffle, and flowers. It's layered, medium to full-bodied, has a great texture, and integrated acidity. A terrific wine with more depth and richness than the Santa Barbara County release, it too is outstanding and well worth drinking over the coming 5-7 years, if not longer.
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.