Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Pinot Noir Rancho la Vina Vineyard has a pale to medium ruby color with aromas of blueberries, roses, crushed stone, tobacco, saline and tangerine peel with rhubarb, strawberry, warm red and black cherries and blackberries with tinges of woodsmoke and earth. The light to medium-bodied palate is silky, featuring broody spices and fruits and swelling with pleasantly chewy tannins and juicy freshness before finishing with tons of vibrant energy.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Smoked red fruits, dried herbs, sous bois, and earth all emerge from the 2015 Pinot Noir Rancho La Vina Vineyard. Another powerful, concentrated Pinot Noir from Chad, it balances its richness nicely with purity and elegance.
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.