Winemaker Notes
Exuberant and unforgettable bouquet with green, black and red notes. Clove, hibiscus, rose and black cherry. Peppercorns and black plum. Difficult to capture all of these remarkable elements in words. Changes like a kaleidoscope with every new minute in the glass. Red grapefruit, cigar box, black tea and violets. Earth-driven and then raspberry-like on the palate. Salty and savory with a welcome charge of acid. Everything remains cohesive and energized. Builds slowly and steadily to a peak of fresh and delectable black fruit alongside cascades of bright acidity. The finest and most gentle sprinkling of dusty tannins that act to support the fruit on the long and winding finish. Persistent, sophisticated and sublime.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Moving to the Pinot Noirs, the 2021 Pinot Noir Estate has a beautiful perfume of candied cherries, fresh cut flowers, savory herbs, and subtle marine nuances. It's medium-bodied, has rocking purity, integrated acidity, and a great finish. It's a beautiful appellation release with serious character.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Estate Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills is very pretty, with beaming red-fruited aromas melding with those of fresh herbs and the region's classic salinity. The palate is succulent and gently tensile, leading to a beautiful finish that was a bit clipped but nevertheless wraps up a beautiful wine.
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.