Winemaker Notes
Comprised predominately fruit from the Santa Rita Hills and the balance from Santa Maria Valley. Only the highest quality fruit is used from exceptional parcels around the County.
Extremely mineral. Crushed rock, bright cherry, wet earth, game.
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Pale ruby-purple, the 2019 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills features delicate cranberry scents with wafts of flint, cured meats, aniseed and wildflowers. Medium-bodied, the palate surprises with its intensity of crunchy perfumed fruits, offering chalky texture and refreshing acidity. This crunchy, saline-tinged wine is complex in its youth and ready to drink, and fans of Pinot Noir from the Central Coast will enjoy its delicate expression.
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.