SAMsARA Rancho La Vina Pinot Noir 2019
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Wine
Enthusiast -
Wine &
Spirits -
Robert
Parker
Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Always a fan favorite, the Pinot Noir from Rancho La Viña Vineyard shines again in 2019. Spicy, savory notes are balanced by rich, dark fruits - black currant, ripe cherry and tart blackberry. One of SAMsARA's more textual Pinots, this wine has concentrated, silky tannins and great length on the finish. Drinking great now but will age for another decade easily.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Luscious aromas of dark cherry, candied strawberry and mashed plum pickup complex notes of earth and mushroom on the nose of this single-vineyard expression. Those lively red-fruit flavors are pure and fresh on the palate, where they are cut by crushed peppercorn, lovely hibiscus and light tarragon.
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Wine & Spirits
This dry-farmed site on the far west of the appellation was planted in 2005 on clay loam. It yielded a dark, spicy wine, with scents of turf, lavender, tobacco and wood spice. The flavors are lean and, despite the robust color, the wine possesses a gorgeous delicacy. Pour it with duck confit.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Pale ruby-purple, the 2019 Pinot Noir Rancho la Vina Vineyard offers pretty pomegranate and blueberry fruit on the nose with accents of Earl Grey tea leaves and forest floor. The palate is medium-bodied, chalky and fresh, with very delicate berry fruit and an earthy finish. It's not a simple wine, but I do wish it had a touch more concentration and length on the palate.
Other Vintages
2015-
Robert
Parker -
Jeb
Dunnuck
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Robert
Parker
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Wine
Enthusiast
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.