Winemaker Notes
A blend of amazing Pinot Noir vineyards from within and around the Sta. Rita Hills. These vines are carefully tended to maximize flavor. Once harvested the grapes are all fermented in small lots with an emphasis on body and aroma. The goal has always been to vastly over deliver with this wine. The template I am going for is something like Bachelet Côte des Nuits Village, or Simone Bize Savigny les Beaune.
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Like the 2020 Melville (above) this shows great promise in its youthful state, leading with smoke and redwood bark, dark cherry flavors that grow rounder and more elegant with air, but its fruit needs to find its groove within the smoke and savor. Priced to cellar and to watch as it evolves.
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.