Winemaker Notes
Elegant and balanced; this Pinot Noir is bursting with red fruits, but has a mild earth and leather undertone.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Very light in the glass, this single-vineyard bottling from a vineyard near Los Alamos is loaded with classic chaparral notes on the nose, showing bay leaf and tumbleweed aromas alongside tart raspberry, cranberry, rose petal and smashed stone. A wild sagebrush character decorates the palate as well, recalling those hillsides. Red fruit and citrus add highlights.
Pinot Noir is the second-most planted grape in Santa Barbara County, just behind Chardonnay. It thrives in cooler areas of the region, namely in the of the Sta. Rita Hills, which is part of Santa Barbara’s larger Santa Ynez Valley sub-appellation. Thought for decades to be too cool for viticulture, Sta. Rita Hills began to gain notoriety in the 1970’s, thanks to the pioneering work of Richard Sandford and Michael Benedict, among others.
Santa Barbara Pinot Noir dances across the palate with vivid red fruit and spice. Precision, bright acidity, elegance and fruit-driven silkiness make Santa Barbara Pinot delightfully enjoyable, whether on their own or with a variety of dishes.