2022 Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir
2022 Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir
Exemplifies the characteristics that make the Sta. Rita Hills a premier appellation for Pinot Noir.
Description
New Release This wine exemplifies the characteristics that make the Sta. Rita Hills a premier appellation for Pinot Noir. Acidity and tannins are in perfect balance, creating a backdrop for classic Pinot aromas and flavors. Raspberries, blackberries and plums spill out of the glass across the palate, finishing with notes of strawberries and fresh earth. The wine is very approachable now but additional time in bottle will reward patience with even greater complexity.
Vineyard Notes
75% Rio Vista, 15% Fiddlestix, 10% John Sebastiano
This wine is a beautiful overview of the Sta. Rita Hills, combining Pinot Noir from across the temperature zones of the appellation. The Rio Vista and John Sebastiano vineyards represent the eastern end of the appellation where temperatures are slightly warmer. Fiddlestix is located further west in the heart of Sta. Rita Hills’ cool Pinot Noir zone. Marine winds and coastal fog combined with lean soils make Sta. Rita Hills ideal for the cultivation of world-class Pinot Noir.
Production Notes
The 2022 harvest was tracking to be a little later than usual, but Labor Day weekend brought a significant heat bump which accelerated the pace. Berry size was smaller than average, which resulted in smaller yields across the appellation this year. Our first Sta. Rita Hills fruit to ripen was the Rio Vista Vineyard Block 7. Block 8B followed the next day. Our Pinot Noir harvest finished just ten days after it began, with Fiddlestix coming in on September 15th. Harvest then paused for more than a month until Syrah was ready to pick in late October.
Winemaker Notes
Pinot Noir clusters for this wine were hand sorted before being de-stemmed and gravity fed to fermenters. The must was immediately chilled for a pre-fermentation cold soak where the most beneficial extraction of color, aroma and flavor occurs. During fermentation, concentration was enhanced by gentle punch-downs several times per day. The wine aged 9 months in French oak barrels with 15% new French oak and was bottled unfined on August 16, 2023.
| Vintage |
2022 |
| Wine Style |
Red Wine |
| Varietal |
100% Pinot Noir |
| Appellation |
Sta. Rita Hills |
| Acid |
6.7 g/L |
| PH |
3.7 |
| Alcohol % |
13.5 |
| Size |
750 ml |
