2021 Solomon Hills Vineyard Pinot Noir

The 2021 Pinot Noir Estate Solomon Hills Vineyard is stellar. Dark red/purplish fruit, lavender, mint, rose petal and sweet spice infuse the 2021 with loads of depth. There's tons of acid and tannin, so a bit of cellaring is advisable. In 2021, the Solomon Hills Vineyard is especially brooding. Power and intensity are front and center, but there's plenty of nuance behind that richness.

I loved the bouquet of the 2021 Pinot Noir Solomon Hills, a light ruby-hued effort with perfumed darker cherry, mulberry, leafy herb, and smoked earth nuances. It's medium-bodied, has a layered, seamless texture, integrated tannins, and a gorgeous finish. It's absolutely brilliant. Enjoy bottles over the coming decade or more. These wines are made by the talented Anthony Avila (of Bien Nacido) and focus on the estate vineyard located just east of the town of Santa Maria. I found the Pinot Noir to be more successful in 2021, but these are all outstanding wines.

Usually around 10% whole-cluster fermented with a 3- to 5-day cold soak in open-top fermenters where the wines spend 14–25 days on skins fermenting with a combination of inoculated and native yeasts. Mostly pumpovers and a few punchdowns. Aged for 16 months in 45% new French oak. Unfiltered and usually unfined. Usually not racked before bottling. 450 cases made. Aromas of chopped green herbs, floral notes and bright cherry fruit. Cherry and raspberry fruit flavours mix with cranberry as the wine moves across the palate, with dried herbs and faint woody bitterness emerging in the finish as a grace note. Lightly textured tannins. Excellent acidity. (AY)