Winemaker Notes
The Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir remains a staple of our winemaking, and with the already impressive 2023 vintage this wine delivers twofold a classic profile of the appellation: raspberry coulis, charred Serranos, oolong tea, turned earth and wintergreen, bright and inviting with layers of fruit, herbs and minerality coalescing beautifully on the palate. Light in body, there’s a pleasant grip to really drive home the finish, which welcomes more spice and texture to this delicately balanced wine
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Tasted prior to bottling, the 2023 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills is dark-fruited, woody and faintly floral, with a sappy, anise-driven side that appears with aeration. The palate is surprisingly generous in texture with a twisted, sturdy and inward tannic profile that should soften and come together after bottling.
Barrel Sample: 90-92
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.