Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Very precise with sliced pineapple, apples and white wild flowers. Full- to medium-bodied with sliced cooked apple, savory pie crust dough and hints of salted caramel to the fruit at the end. Lots of lemon and lime at the finish. Subtle opulence to this. Drink or hold.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Another awesome wine that will benefit from bottle age is the 2020 Pinot Noir Radian Vineyard. Sporting a vivid, translucent ruby hue as well as notes of black raspberries, subtle cassis, and spicy oak, it’s medium-bodied, has a rock star of a mid-palate, ripe, building tannins, and a great finish. The purity and balance here are spot on, and this warrants 2-3 years of bottle age and will cruise for a decade.
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Vinous
The 2020 Pinot Noir Radian opens with crazy aromatics that are immediately alluring. Bright red/purplish fruit, lavender, rose petal and sweet spice all inform this gorgeous, translucent Pinot from The Hilt. Time in the glass brings out darker tonalities of fruit and the striking inner sweetness that is such a signature of the finest Sta. Rita Hills Pinots. Blending across several parcels on the range yields a Pinot of tremendous distinction. The 2020 is special. Don't miss it.
Rating: 95+
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.