February: 2022 Brewer-Clifton Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills

An argument can be made that Santa Barbara County’s Sta. Rita Hills AVA is the most unique grape-growing region in the world. The western-most sub AVA in Santa Ynez Valley is at the mouth of the most pronounced transverse (east to west) range on the Pacific side of the Americas. This mountain orientation funnels cool ocean air through the valley, facilitating, as you travel west to east, world-class Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the Sta. Rita Hills, scrumptious Syrah in Ballard Canyon, and highly acclaimed Cabernet Sauvignon in Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara.

Sta. Rita Hills also may be the only region on earth where grape vines grow directly out of diatomaceous earth (DE). This white rock (silica) was formed as algae on the ocean floor moved to the surface over thousands of years of earthquakes and volcanic activity. Grapes growing out of DE might cause some to assume that the resulting wines show distinct minerality. This comes down to where one falls on the “science to art” winemaking spectrum. The former can point to the fact there is no scientific evidence that minerals in the soil transfer to the wine. The latter will swear they can detect it on the palate.

In this singular convergence of transverse ranges and DE, Greg Brewer, one of America’s most highly regarded winemakers, has created our February wine of the month, the 2022 Brewer-Clifton Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir. Grapes from the 3D, Machado, Hapgood, and Perilune vineyards, all within Sta. Rita Hills AVA, are blended to create an expressive wine, perhaps a bit Burgundian in style with zippy acidity. A light cherry, plum, and pomegranate core lead to rose petals, baking spices, and turned earth. Use of the four vineyards gives this wine a roundness and makes it approachable and balanced.

We’ll leave it to you whether you taste minerality.

Brewer-Clifton offers several vineyard-designate Pinot Noir, each with a unique focus—and all quite good—at slightly higher prices. From a value standpoint, however, we love the 2022 Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir, which is $50 through Brewer-Clifton and less than $40 @MrHiTime. We encourage you to buy several bottles to enjoy now, and several to open over the next 8-10 years.

For making an outstanding Pinot Noir from one of the most unique wine regions on Earth at a great price, the 2022 Brewer-Clifton Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir is our February wine of the month.

Learn more about Brewer-Clifton, purchase their wines, and follow them here:

bygregbrewer.com

@brewerclifton

@mrhitime

You may often hear wines referred to as having a, “sense of place.“ But what does that mean? Is it a marketing buzz phrase or is there significance in it? When used properly, it is the latter.

When grapes are allowed to grow—and wines are then made—with minimal intervention, they are impacted by the soil, slope, aspect, warmth, sunshine, elevation, wind, etc. Each of these growing conditions (loosely referred to as the wine’s “terroir”) factors into the color, body, acid, tannins, aromas, flavors, alcohol, etc. in the wine. In the United States, for the most part, you can grow any grape varietal anywhere and make any wine you want. That doesn’t mean you should. Each grape varietal is unique and is typically suited to specific terroir.

If your favorite wine is Pinot Noir, for example, you should be mindful that it does not perform at its best in hot climates. But you can find plenty examples of hot-climate Pinot Noir grown in the United States. It’s a disservice to the grape, usually producing an inferior wine, one that is manipulated with additives to try to mimic a cooler climate. In Europe there are strict wine laws that regulate where this grape is permitted to be grown (e.g., Burgundy). These regulations are tied to the climatic factors of the region. By ensuring the best possible Pinot Noir, they preserve the reputation of the grape and the producer.

If you taste enough wine you will begin to recognize when it was grown in conditions suited to the variety and therefore has a sense of place.

With all of this in mind, we highlight a wine with a true sense of place: the 2019 Ten Acre by Bella Vineyards Cloak + Loam Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast, our January wine of the month and the #6 wine of on our Top 50 Wines of 2024. We tasted this wine on a November trip to the caves at Bella, located on the northern end of Dry Creek Valley. The flagship grape of this AVA is Zinfandel, which typically thrives in warm, sunny regions. Zinfandel prefers much warmer weather than Pinot Noir. So how can our wine of the month truly have a sense of place? Remember, the location of the winery and tasting room is not necessarily the location where the grapes were grown.

The Ten Acre Cloak + Loam is aptly named, combining fruits from different vineyards with these characteristics. Pinot Noir thrives when grown in cool, foggy morning conditions, and in California it grows best in volcanic and loam soils. The “Cloak” comes from the foggy Petaluma Gap’s Crown Vineyard. The “Loam” refers to the Gap’s well-draining, iron-rich loam soil with its volcanic rock and the sandy loam Goldridge soils of the Earl Stephens Vineyard in the Russian River Valley.

The result is a silky, supple, medium-bodied wine with great depth of flavor. Expect dark plum, violet, black tea, rose petals, and Tahitian vanilla. Medium plus acidity and low, ripe tannins provide structure and carry the wine to a long finish. The 14.7% ABV is well integrated in the wine and therefore plays much lower. This is what Pinot Noir from the Petaluma Gap and Russian River Valley should be. This is a wine with a sense of place.

As we have written many times, value doesn’t mean low price. It means performing above the price point. We would expect to pay much more for this wine than its $68 price tag.

For making a classic Pinot Noir with a true sense of place and delivering great value, the 2019 Ten Acre by Bella Vineyards Cloak + Loam Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast is our January wine of the month.

Learn more about Bella Vineyards and Wine Caves, purchase their wine, and follow them here:

https://www.bellawinery.com

@BellaWineCaves