Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Adam Lee's take on this vineyard on the eastern border of the Sta. Rita Hills is rich with tomato, cinnamon, sour cherry and tart blackberry aromas. It's soft and velvety once sipped, with cranberry juice flavors and cola making for a fun yet approachable Pinot Noir, easy to drink but able to trigger deep thoughts as well.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2012 Pinot Noir John Sebastiano Vineyard comes from a cool, steep hillside in the Sta. Rita Hills. Possessing a darker, earthier style, with notions of Bing cherries, mint, white pepper and spring flowers, it hits the palate with medium-bodied richness, juicy acidity and a clean finish. There’s some underlying herbaceous notes here, but it stay nicely balanced and very drinkable. Enjoy bottles over the coming 4-5 years.
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.