Winemaker Notes
The palate delivers flavors of spicy red fruits framed nicely by bright acidity. Exploding with a combination of earthy cherry, sage and white pepper.
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
Exotic aromas of cranberry, plum, sandalwood, myrrh and lavender makes for an elegant entry to this bottling by the winemaking team of Steve Fennell and Laura Roach. Layered flavors of tart cherry and pomegranate are laced throughout by dried herbs, while the tannic structure is firm but not obtrusive. Drink 2018–2034. Cellar Selection.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Pale ruby-purple colored, the 2014 Pinot Noir la Rinconada Vineyard offers up notions of cranberries and red cherries with hints of potpourri, rose hip tea and cinnamon stick plus a waft of fragrant earth. Medium-bodied and finely played on the palate, it gives a good amount of understated red berry and earthy flavors with a suggestion of chew and a pleasant stewed tea finish.
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.