Winemaker Notes
Planted nearly fifty years ago, Tyler Winery's section of Sanford & Benedict’s Pinot Noir routinely provides the most pure and ethereal barrels in the winery's cellar. It is a wine of total grace and elegance.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Pale ruby-purple, pure raspberry and pomegranate define the 2020 Pinot Noir Sanford & Benedict, with touches of charcuterie, cracked pepper, mushroom and forest floor emerging as it spends time in the glass. The palate is fragrant and harmonious, offering detailed flavors, chalky tannins, mouthwatering acidity and a very long finish. Lovely!. Best After 2022
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James Suckling
An agile and fluid red with a weightless nature despite being dense and layered. Hibiscus. Orange peel. Old vine character. Full and beautiful. Lovely round texture with a bright and vivid center palate.
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.