2017 The Hilt Vanguard Pinot Noir
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Tasting notes
Offering more purity as well as precision in its ripe black cherries, black raspberries, crushed flowers, and forest floor aromas and flavors, the 2017 Pinot Noir Vanguard is a layered, multi-dimensional effort that has beautiful depth of fruit, remarkable purity, and polished tannins. It opens up with time in the glass and is a beautiful, seamless effort that plays with the crème de la crème in the vintage. Drink it any time over the coming 10-15 years. The big news with these The Hilt releases is the addition of two new single vineyard Pinot Noirs, Radian and Bentrock. As usual, winemaker Matt Dees has turned out a brilliant lineup of wines in both 2017 and 2018.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2017 Pinot Noir Vanguard is a dark, powerful wine imbued with a real sense of gravitas. Black cherry, smoke, tar, licorice and earthy notes all run through the 2017 Vanguard. Muscular and dense in feel, the 2017 is likely to require at least a few years in bottle to be at its very best. There is a lot to look forward to, but readers need to be patient. Vineyard sites are 90% Sanford & Benedict and 10% Radian.
Entirely destemmed and aged 12 months in 20% new French oak, the pale to medium ruby-purple colored 2017 Pinot Noir Vanguard has a pretty nose of dried blueberries, rhubarb and warm red cherry with dusty earth, stone, meaty touches and a spicy, amaro-tinged undercurrent. Medium to full-bodied, it offers lots of spicy, luscious fruits in the mouth, with very fine, grainy tannins and great freshness, finishing long and spiced. 257 cases produced.
A dazzling wine, the 2017 Pinot Noir Vanguard is an explosion of aromas, flavors and textures. Perfumed, silky and wonderfully deep, the 2017 is shaping up to be a jewel of a wine. A rush of dark red and purplish berry fruit, lavender, rose petal and spice builds in the glass as this exuberant Pinot shows off its considerable charms.
About the producer
The Hilt is the Santa Rita Hills project owned by sports and property mogul billionaire Stan Kroenke, who also owns Screaming Eagle in Napa Valley and the Jonata estate in the California’s Ballard Canyon AVA.