2015 Brewer-Clifton Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills
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Tasting notes
From a vintage described as productively warm, the 2015 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills offers pretty notes of kirsch, cherry blossom, spice and dried herbs. It’s medium-bodied, elegant and silky on the palate, with moderate concentration yet beautiful balance. This was a fabulous tasting with winemaker Greg Brewer, and both his Pinot Noir and Chardonnay showed brilliantly. While it’s easy to always focus on the single vineyard releases from a producer, this tasting shows that the appellation blends can be every bit as good. Greg’s Chardonnays are always barrel fermented and aged all in neutral oak, and his Pinot Noir see the same hands-off approach, being fermented with no destemming and aged all in neutral barrels.
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Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2015 Pinot Noir (Sta. Rita Hills) is a very pretty appellation-level wine. Sweet red cherry, plum, rose petal, mint and crushed flowers are all pushed forward. Whole-cluster influence comes through in the wine's aromatics. This classy Pinot from Brewer-Clifton shows the more refined style that is the norm here these days.
Pale ruby-purple colored, the 2015 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills has fragrant herbal notes of Provence herbs and wild thyme over a core of red cherries and cranberries plus a waft of dusty earth. Medium-bodied, it delivers a wall of refreshing red berry and earthy layers supported by chewy tannins and a lively backbone, finishing long.