Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium ruby, the 2018 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills bursts with smoked cranberries and blackberries, earth, tea leaves and tangerine peel aromas. It's silky, seamless and fresh in the mouth with loads of lift and layers, and it finishes long and flavorful.
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Wine & Spirits
This bottling comes mostly from Sandhi’s own vineyards, with a healthy dollop from Sanford & Benedict Vineyard. Given the pedigree and the complexity, this wine is a steal. The marriage of light pomegranate fruit and smoky cluster spice is haunting, vibrant and assertive, the whole-bunch component providing ballast and depth, but the wine’s acidity is the lasting impression. For duck prosciutto.
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.