Tasting Report: Wines of the Santa Rita Hills 2012
Santa Rita Hills, located in Santa Barbara County and immortalized by the movie Sideways, is perhaps the preeminent location for Pinot Noir production in all of California. Tasting 30 or so of these Pinots together is tough work: I could drink almost any of them with dinner, and grading them competitively almost feels unfair. That said, I found a number of real winners at this year’s “road trip” to San Francisco, with a dozen or so producers pouring their new releases alongside some older vintages (and not just Pinot). Of special note, the delicate Make-peace bottling from Cold Heaven Cellars and Dragonette’s always-winning wines. These notes are, as always, really rough guidelines and not authoritative reviews… and here they are.
Tasting Report: Santa Rita Hills Winegrowers Alliance Road Trip 2012
2009 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir Mt. Eden Clone El Jabali Vineyard / C+ /
2008 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir / B /
2007 Ampelos Pinot Noir Prho / B / massive herbs, mint
2010 Ampelos Pinot Noir / B / easy
2008 Ampelos Pinot Noir Lambda / B / menthol notes are huge, overwhelming
2008 Ampelos Syrah Gamma / B+ / massive, smoky
2009 Cargasacchi Pinot Noir Cargasacchi Vineyard / B+ /
2010 Clos Pepe Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Estate / A- / massive
2009 Clos Pepe Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Estate / B+ / more tart
2007 Clos Pepe Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Estate / A- / elegant, easy
2006 Clos Pepe Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Estate / B+ / has that touch of maturity
2010 Cold Heaven Cellars Viognier Au Bon Climat Vineyard / B+ /
2010 Cold Heaven Cellars Viognier Sanford and Benedict Vineyard / A- / bigger, racier
2010 Cold Heaven Cellars Pinot Noir Nevertell / A- / big and spicy
2010 Cold Heaven Cellars Pinot Noir Make-peace / A / delicate
2010 Cold Heaven Cellars Pinot Noir Queenscup / B+ / chunky
2009 Dierberg Pinot Noir Dierberg Vineyard / B- / overcooked
2010 Dragonette Pinot Noir / A- / a touch concentrated
2010 Dragonette Pinot Noir Fiddlestix Vineyard / A- / fruit and spice
2008 Fiddlehead Cellars Pinot Noir “Seven Twenty Eight” Fiddlestix Vineyard / A- / big, grassy
2007 Fiddlehead Cellars Pinot Noir “Lollapalooza” Fiddlestix Vineyard / B+ /
2009 Flying Goat YNOT Pinot Noir Santa Barbara County / B+ / very easy
2009 Flying Goat Pinot Noir Rancho Santa Rosa / B / super jammy, big
2008 Flying Goat Pinot Noir Clone 2A Rio Vista Vineyard / A- / better balance, chewy
2008 Flying Goat Pinot Noir Solomon Hills Vineyard / B+ / meaty notes
2009 Foley Family Pinot Noir / B+ / thick body
2009 Foley Family Lincourt Pinot Noir, Lindsay’s Vineyard / B+ / tobacco notes
2010 Gypsy Canyon Winery Pinot Noir Trois, Gypsy Canyon Vineyard / B / somewhat thin body, very fruity
2008 Hartley Ostini Hitching Post Pinot Noir St. Rita’s Earth / A- / great herbal composition
2007 Hartley Ostini Hitching Post Pinot Noir Fiddlestix Vineyard / B+ / slight bitter edge
2007 Hartley Ostini Hitching Post Pinot Noir Perfect Set, Fiddlestix Vineyard / A- / lovely balance
2009 Huber Pinot Noir Huber Estate / A- / great body, spice, balance
2009 Kessler-Haak Vineyard Pinot Noir Kessler-Haak Vineyard / B / meaty notes
2009 Kessler-Haak Vineyard Pinot Noir Clone 2A Kessler-Haak Vineyard / B- /
2009 Kessler-Haak Vineyard Syrah Turner Vineyard / B+ /
2009 Lafond Vineyards Pinot Noir / B / tart, off balance
2009 Lafond Vineyards Syrah / B+ / sweeter style
2009 Longoria Pinot Noir Fe Ciega Vineyard / C+ / medicinal notes
2010 Longoria Pinot Noir Lovely Rita / B- /
2009 Pali Wine Company Pinot Noir Fiddlestix Vineyard / B / tart, off balance
2010 Pali Wine Company Pinot Noir Huntington Santa Barbara County / B / thin
2010 Siduri Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Vineyard / B+ / more smoky, earth
2010 Siduri Pinot Noir / B+ /
2009 Zotovich Cellars Pinot Noir Zotovich Estate / B- / very tart