Winemaker Notes
Enticing red fruit highlighted by fresh green herbs. Darker, decidedly woodsy, and more seductive on the palate with serious weight and so many dimensions. Mint, clove and raspberry. Classic Bentrock notes of blood orange shine through in this vintage. Round and generous black cherry fruit that leads to an increasingly bright finish. Fresh and poised with tons of tension and mouthwatering elements. Compelling today, but with so much more to offer. Pomegranate character on the finish. Highlights the southeast facing lieu-dits on the rocky property planted to the renowned, tiny-berried Calera clone. Lithe, but also endowed with power and muscle. Dusting of delicate and chalky tannins on finish. An absolute new level of expressiveness and elegance from this special vineyard site.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2021 Pinot Noir Bentrock offers up sweet red cherry, pomegranate, blood orange, spice and cedar. Deep and layered, with compelling inner perfume and notable breadth, the 2021 is exquisite. Bright acids perk up the finish. This is classic Bentrock all the way.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2021 Pinot Noir Bentrock Vineyard is similarly translucent ruby and offers a darker edge in its earthy red and black fruits, black tea, rose petal, and mineral aromas and flavors. It shows the cooler, vibrant, balanced style of the vintage and is medium-bodied, has nicely integrated acidity, and a great finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Pinot Noir Bentrock Vineyard beautifully encapsulates the pretty, brooding and palpably saline nature of Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir. The palate is silky and seamless, enriched by an umami-like texture that further unfolds through the tense, chalky finish. This does a beautiful job of balancing an age-worthy, bracing structure with delicious immediacy.
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Decanter
Vivid dark berry fruit, cassis and bramble, aromatic and juicy. Beautiful, red-fruited, with good tension and slatey freshness. Balanced with cocoa oak and sophisticated structure. Lovely.
Wines defined by place, style and time. In the southwest corner of Sta. Rita Hills AVA lies a rugged, windswept, coastal vineyard, called The Hilt Estate; estate grower producer of stunning Pinot Noir and Chardonnay reflective of this dynamic corner of California.
Pushing the limits; in the farthest southwest reach of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA is home to Radian & Bentrock Vineyards, these vineyards dictate The Hilt style.
The numerous microclimates and unique soils provide a multilayered backdrop to create 3 unique expressions: Estate, The Guards, and Single Vineyards.
In 2014, Matt Dees, Ruben Solorzano & team took on operation and farming of Radian and Bentrock Vineyards and shifted to precise sustainable & organic farming to transform and revitalize the soil.
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.