Winemaker Notes
These own-rooted old vines produce a wine of total class and grace. There is a purity to this fruit every year that I don’t see anywhere else. Beautiful spiced cherry fruit with ginger root and sarsaparilla notes add a spicy component while the overall theme of juicy, freshness and structure shine. The finish is extremely long with wonderful grip and acidity. It is absolutely the most regal wine in our lineup.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Pinot Noir Sanford & Benedict is pale to medium ruby-purple, opening with tar, grilled meats and stone with warm black cherries and berries, citrus peel, nutmeg, dried flowers and blue fruit hints. The light to medium-bodied palate offers a good core of spicy fruits with a wonderful, granulated tannic frame, juicy freshness and a long, layered finish. 139 cases produced.
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.