Winemaker Notes
This Pinot Noir is rife with the aromas of the western Sta. Rita Hills, showing purple sage, nori, cigar box, raspberry and red plum classic to the area’s long, cool growing season. Equally fresh and classic on the palate, red fruit, blistered shishitos and herbs pack a savory, seaside wine with not only concentration but lithe acidity to match. This play between light and shade, lift and structure makes the 2022 Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir simpatico with a range of cuisine.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills comes from declassified fruit grown at Domaine de la Côte, plus purchased fruit from three other vineyards, including La Rinconada. It's a particularly complex and expressive iteration of Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir from Sandhi. It has an alluring perfume of raspberry, strawberry, tea leaves, tobacco, potpourri and gravel dust, and it reveals botanical undertones as it spends time in the glass. The light-bodied palate has a deep core of spicy, herbal fruit, a frame of chalky tannins, energetic acidity and a long, layered finish.
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Wine Spectator
This bristles with a bright, savory streak that fully permeates the core of bitter cherry and damson plum, while sage, green tea and pepper notes dart around. The long, taut, pinpoint finish leaves a lingering twang of iron.
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.