Winemaker Notes
A joyous version of The Hilt Estate Pinot Noir. Expressive red fruit and cooling herbs. Plush attack with mineral-laden character. Cherry, hibiscus, cranberry and blood orange. Pine forest and chanterelle. Brilliantly fresh with a lovely balance between savory herbal notes and hedonistic red fruit. Vibrant acidity. Dried strawberry and cocoa powder. Succulent and delicious offering today. Persistent with such lovely and expansive depth. Highlights the ripe fruit of the vintage balanced alongside the charms of the cool climate of The Hilt's wind-blown, ocean-influenced vineyards.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Lovely floral aromas of lavender and rose petal with ripe yet fresh strawberries. Crushed stone. Medium-bodied with very fine tannins and bright acidity. Subtle mineral and salt notes with gorgeous fruits. But always reserved. Slate. Super value, such quality.
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Wine Enthusiast
A concentrated floral character to this bottling emerges more redolently as the wine breathes, showing lavender, violet, cherry and wild berry on the nose. The palate is bold but silky, offering dark berry and cranberry as well as slightly bitter touches of sagebrush.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Moving to the reds, the 2020 Pinot Noir Estate has lots of black raspberry and strawberry-like fruits as well as toasted spices and floral notes. It’s medium-bodied, textured, has some background, nicely integrated oak, and beautiful tannins.
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Wine & Spirits
Round and elegant, this pinot is dark and plummy, blunt in its initial expression, only to firm up and become refined. It’s gamey, with blackberry fruit that seems to express a kind of polished acidity. It would pair beautifully with Cornish game hens.
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.