Winemaker Notes
The Sanford & Benedict Vineyard is a wine of precision, beautifully layered and nuanced. Rose petals, white pepper, and lavender all grace this racy wine. The palate is elegant, and seamless, with a pure and suave texture. This wine is delicious now yet has the balance and structure to age gracefully for some time.
It is a natural for richer fish dishes, roast chicken and even game.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Intense aromas of black cherry and raspberry meet with flat, fluffy red flowers on the nose of this bottling, which is like smelling a redolent bouquet after a bite of hot cherry pie. The palate is very tense at first before unfurling into layers of creamy strawberry and violet. A seamless sip.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Lastly, the 2021 Pinot Noir Sanford & Benedict Vineyard is similar to the appellation release, only better. Black raspberries, spring flowers, orange blossom, and foresty nuances all flow to a medium-bodied, layered, balanced beauty offering terrific purity, a focused, elegant mouthfeel, and outstanding length. This classic, impeccably made Pinot Noir will evolve for 10-15 years if well stored.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Pinot Noir Sanford & Benedict Vineyard is sourced from a quartet of soil profiles in the site, which include a small portion of the original plantings. The nose combines bright, focused red fruit aromas with lifted, citrus peel accents and undertones of moss and river rocks. The palate is more substantial and plush than the Founders' Vines bottling, albeit with a similar elegant, seamless nuance running through the finish. The grace and subtle yet complete nature of this site is very well expressed in this vintage.
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Vinous
The 2021 Pinot Noir Sanford & Benedict Vineyard is dazzling. A wine of crystalline purity, the 2021 impresses with its delineation, tension and overall drive. Crushed rocks, lavender, rose petal and bright red/purplish fruit all race across the palate in this gorgeous, translucent Pinot Noir.
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Wine Spectator
A sleek version, with pure red and black cherry puree notes streaming through, while finely beaded acidity stays nicely embedded. Shows floral and red tea hints on the stylish finish. Drink now through 2030. 339 cases made.
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.