Winemaker Notes
On the nose, this Pinot jumps out of the glass with dried rose notes, potpourri, ripe strawberries and red plums. On the palate the soft, fine-grained tannins and bright acid make this wine great for food pairing or wonderful to enjoy on its own.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This appellation cuvée is more widely available and, for 2020, more pleasurable than some of the single-vineyard selections. Fresh aromas of black raspberry, pomegranate and rose petal engage the nose. The palate is tightly woven in texture, showcasing fresh raspberry jam and peppery spices.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills is very pale ruby in color and earthy on the nose, a core of raspberry and floral perfume accented by tones of wet tobacco leaves, flint and woodsmoke. The medium-bodied palate is chalky and approachable with juicy fruits and a long, spicy finish.
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Wine & Spirits
Scents of sassafras and turf lead in this lean, youthful pinot. It starts off distant, its cherry-blossom scents and red-cherry flavors deepening as it opens with air, with a pleasingly tartness gives the wine some tension, making it a foil for grilled whole fish.
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.