Brewer-Clifton Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir 2020
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Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Aromas of pomegranate, white tea and raspberry. On the palate, notes of dried fig, white truffle and ripe cherry..
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The appellation Pinot Noir from Brewer-Clifton is always a winner, as well as one heck of a value. The 2020 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills reveals a medium ruby hue to go with a gorgeous perfume of red and blue fruits, peppery herbs, underbrush, and a touch of iron. With notable richness, medium body, ripe tannins, and integrated acidity, it has a terrific mix of Old World complexity and structure with plenty of California fruit. It will drink brilliantly for a decade.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium ruby-purple, the 2020 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills, made with a high proportion of whole clusters, is scented of cranberries and raspberries with nuances of Earl Grey tea leaves and loads of spicy accents. The medium-bodied palate is chalky and bright with delicate flavors and an uplifted, citrus-tinged finish. This is very easy to drink! Best after 2022.
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James Suckling
Aromas of dried strawberry, cedar, black chocolate and dust. Medium-bodied with creamy and refined tannins. Spicy and citrusy at the end.
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Wine Spectator
Delivers lively raspberry and pomegranate flavors infused with a mouthwatering savory streak, ending with red tea and mineral notes on the finish. Structured but with an open feel. Drink now.
Other Vintages
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Brewer-Clifton believes the geographic, geologic and climatic uniqueness of the Sta. Rita Hills appellation provides an ideal place to grow chardonnay and pinot noir grapes of intensity, complexity and specificity. This is why Founder and Winemaker Greg Brewer, Wine Enthusiast’s 2020 Winemaker of the Year, has dedicated his life to this region. Within this appellation, each vineyard carries its own imprint. The Brewer-Clifton mission and passion is to present wines that convey the characteristics inherent to each of these sites, with uncompromising quality.
Brewer–Clifton has the utmost respect for nature. They believe when working with a product of nature, it is necessary to maintain an awareness of the elements and phenomena sometimes beyond their understanding and control. As such, any intervention in the natural evolution of the product must be carried out with the utmost attentiveness and care.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
A superior source of California Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills is the coolest, westernmost sub-region of the larger Santa Ynez Valley appellation within Santa Barbara County. This relatively new AVA is unquestionably one to keep an eye on.
The climate of Sta. Rita Hills is a natural match for Chardonnay and Pinot noir, thanks to the crisp ocean breezes and well-drained, limestone-rich calcareous soil. Here, grapes ripen just enough, while retaining brisk acidity and harmonious balance.