Winemaker Notes
The 2013 vintage was an ideal growing season. Spring frost was minimal with warm temperatures throughout the summer allowing the vines to set a beautiful crop and ripen it efficiently. Once harvest began, it was extremely intense and compressed. The warm temperatures throughout the growing season enabled the vines to compress their ripening and what normally became ripe over four weeks was ripe in two.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
One of the grand cru sites in the Sta. Rita Hills is the Sanford & Benedict vineyard that's located on the southern side of the appellation, just to the south of the Santa Rosa Road and to the east of both La Encantada and La Rinconada. From some of the oldest vines in the region, the 2013 Pinot Noir Sanford & Benedict is always a balanced, classy and elegant wine and gives up a mix of red and black fruits, toasted bread, exotic spice and ample floral notes on the nose. Shining on the palate, it's medium-bodied, perfectly balanced and layered, with a great texture. About as textbook Sta. Rita Hills Pinot as you're likely to find, drink this stunner over the coming decade.
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.