Winemaker Notes
The nuanced nose expresses fresh blueberries, rising dough and rose petal. The wine enters the palate with energetic freshness and is enlivened with minerality on the finish.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Lots of bread dough and brioche with dried lemon and apple. Toast. Some iron, too. Some sea salt. Medium-bodied with a lovely lofty density and bright acidity. Pie crust to the fruit. A blend of pinot noir and chardonnay. Five years on the lees. No dosage.
Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.
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.