The soft, tropical aromatics of this pale peach rosé immediately express the dichotomy of this unique wine. Two separate harvest dates, one barrel fermented, and the other stainless tank fermented create racy acidity upfront with lingering creamy, softness from mid-palate to finish. Aromas of white flowers, fuzzy peach, and pineapple skin show off the expressive side of the wine. The racy acidity upfront lifts flavors of orange blossom, tangerine zest, and nectarine. The silky texture creates layers throughout the palate from bright to mineral to mouth coating to textural with acidity continuing through to the finish.
Tasting Notes
Vintage
2021
Varietal
Pinot Noir
Appellation
Sta. Rita Hills
Winemaker Notes
Whole cluster pressed Pinot noir, fermented in 50% neutral oak and 50% stainless steel.
A long, cool fermentation in tank allows for vibrant aromatic expression.
Nuetral oak barrels create mouthfeel and silky texture.
Our Santa Barbara County Chardonnay integrates the two coldest AVAs in Santa Barbara, those being the Sta. Rita Hills (sourced from our Peake Ranch Vineyard) and Santa Maria Valley (sourced from our Sierra Madre Vineyard) respectively. This wine is dominated by wonderful floral and citrus aromatics with a bright, fresh energetic backbone, then finishes with a soft, subtle oak influence.
A blend between the most interesting barrels from Peake Ranch vineyard we have in the cellar. Always a unique blend of different blocks on clones from the ranch. This vintage has particularly expressive aromas, showing lemongrass and honeysuckle upfront. This cooler vintage allowed for the bright acidity upfront and 16 months of barrel age allow for the softness and supportive weight of the mid-palate. Some nice stone fruit flavors and chalky notes carry this wine through to the lingering acidity on the finish.
Outside of being the first and oldest of our vineyards, Sierra Madre is by far the coldest. Located on the western side of the Santa Maria AVA, it is one of the lowest elevation vineyards in the region. As such, it is blanketed by freezing coastal fog and wind all year long. The result is Chardonnay that retains racy natural acidity, a bright mineral-driven texture, and concentrated fruit that integrates flawlessly with the French oak barrels we use.
The first Pinot Noir to be released is our signature appellation wine. This wine is a composite of both our Sta. Rita Hills AVA vineyards, Peake Ranch and John Sebastiano. The combination of these diverse vineyards, seven different clonal varieties, a splash of stem inclusion, and the cool nature of the vintage work together to create a wine that speaks to the area. There is a beautiful, charming bouquet that encapsulates the ripeness we get with our California sun but remains light and elegant on the palate with very polished and silky tannins.
This wine shows deep magenta in color, primarily coming from the small berries of the Calera clone. The bramble fruit flavor comes from the Hyde clone, which is always extremely expressive at the ranch. The herbal notes of sage and lavender, typical of Santa Rosa Road, are accentuated by the cool growing season of 2019. Soft tannin comes through mid-palate with a chalky and cedar component bringing the wine to a savory finish. The balance of soft florals, herbal tones, and high fruit concentration makes this wine quite unique and tells a great story of this ranch.
Our John Sebastiano Vineyard is not the easiest land to farm. While boasting approximately one thousand acres in size, we only have about 15% of the property planted to vines, with only a handful of spots that could feasibly grow more. The land is dominated by intense slopes with sharp, windy ridge lines and deep craggy ravines. It’s far more suited for the cattle that used to dot the hillside over the many decades before being transformed into the vineyard it is today. But without all those hurdles the vineyard probably would not exhibit the power, structure, and personality we experience from the wines it produces.
This vibrant and expressive wine shows intensity, elegance, and youth. Due to the extremely cold spring, this wine experienced half the yield as seen in a regular season. This created a deep, ruby magenta color and an abundance of fine tannins. The wine shows incredible fruit concentration and delicate notes of herbs, soft blue florals, and moss. Truly expressing the challenges and benefits of growing Grenache in the Santa Rita Hills.
Last on this allocation is the beloved Bellis Noir! Our non-traditional but distinctly Sta. Rita Hills Rhone inspired blend of 75% Syrah, 16% Grenache, and 9% Pinot Noir. While most of these styles of blends intend to embolden their Grenache by adding Syrah or Mourvedre, the Bellis Noir takes the opposite approach. Our cool climate Syrahs carry a lot of intensity both in aromatics and body so we add Grenache and Pinot Noir to round and soften our Syrah to create a wine that has beautiful texture and flavor.
Inky and garnet red in color, this wine shows complexity and strength. Savory aromatics lead with notes of cedar barbeque, pink peppercorns, and caramelized sugar on a blackberry pie. The tannins are broad and dominating the palate upfront, while the acidity comes in later to extend the wine’s length. The velvety tannin structure creates an alluring texture throughout the palate. Harvested later in the season, this wine shows the intention and power of a vine which utilizes the entire growing season for developing.
