2012 Brewer-Clifton Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills
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Reminding me of the 2007, the sensational 2012 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills has terrific purity in its kirsch, black cherry, exotic spice and floral aromatics. Elegant, medium-bodied, supple and very silky on the palate, it’s one of the more forward wines in the lineup but has terrific balance. Drink it over the coming 7-8 years. 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
Brilliant ruby-red. Powerful cherry, floral pastille and spicecake scents, along with notes of white pepper and musky herbs. Sweet and penetrating, offering juicy black raspberry and bitter cherry compote flavors that pick up a smoky accent with air. Powerful and energetic pinot with no excess fat. Closes smooth, spicy and long, with firming tannins coming on late.
The 2012 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills is a beautiful effort that has a tinge of Burgundian flair in its forest floor, licorice and black cherry driven personality. Medium-bodied, rounded, supple and with serious focus and cut, it’s a great value to enjoy over the coming 5-7 years. Steve Clifton and Greg Brewer continue to produce a bevy of beautiful releases from the Sta. Rita Hills. Looking at their latest releases, their 2012 Pinot Noirs are superb and check in near the top of the vintage. While the Chardonnays are solid, and in some cases outstanding, I thought they lacked concentration and had too much acidity for their own good. Looking at the Pinot Noirs, which as a whole I found more successful than the Chardonnays, these were all harvested on the same date, fermented with 100% whole cluster and aged in neutral oak. Tel. (805) 735-9184; www.brewerclifton.com
The 2012 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills is juicy, immediate and quite pretty. Dark plum, flowers, cinnamon and new leather flesh out in a supple, round Pinot to drink over the next handful of years. Savory and floral notes from the 100% whole clusters linger on the finish, but the stems are otherwise totally integrated in the wine's fabric.