Winemaker Notes
The Pinot Noir is sourced from the most unique terroir of the Sta Rita Hills, the North-facing slope of the Santa Rosa road corridor. This hallowed ground, from west to east, includes some of the most important vineyards of the appellation: Radian and Bentrock.The vines age ranges between eight and 44 years old and grows predominately on Diatomatious earth and loamy sand.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A deep well of minerality and crunchiness marries forest fruit, plums and mixed cherries, showing star anise and seaweed through the saline finish. Unfurls with expressiveness and length. Drink or hold.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Vivid ruby/plum-hued and semi-opaque, the 2023 Pinot Noir Hilt Estate offers beautiful black raspberries, sappy, minty flowers, and spicy wood. It's medium-bodied, has a pure, layered mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and a great finish. This strikes a good balance between richness and elegance and has solid tannins and outstanding length. Drink 2025-2033.
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Vinous
The 2023 Pinot Noir Estate consists of 56% Radian, 24% Bentrock and 20% Sanford & Benedict. It's a deep, layered wine but the overall impression is a little quiet today. Reticent dark fruit, leather, cedar and tobacco make for a brooding, inward wine with lots of structure and power. Time should help soften the edges and release some of the 2023's inner tension.
Rating: 91+
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.