2017 Bien Nacido Pinot Noir

The 2017 Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vineyard comes from the Santa Maria Valley and saw plenty of stems (35%) as well as 15% new French oak. Translucent yet slightly darker than the Los Alamos Vineyard, it offers a complex, masculine bouquet of black cherries, sappy herbs, earth, and leather. Rich, medium-bodied, concentrated, and with building tannins, it too is seamless and perfectly balanced, and is another powerful yet ethereal Pinot Noir from this talented winemaker.

The 2017 Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vineyard is especially light and perfumed in this vintage. Sweet aromatics and mid-weight structure give the 2017 its distinct personality. The 2017 was picked before the heat, and is a decidedly light wine, even by Gavin Chanin's standards. There is lovely aromatic presence, but the grippy tannins and slightly dried out fruit suggest the 2017 will offer its best drinking sooner rather than later.

Pale to medium ruby, the 2017 Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vineyard opens with some rubbery and sulfur aromas, slowly giving up broody black fruits, dried earth, amaro and red fruit sparks. The palate is light to medium-bodied with grainy tannins, good freshness and a savory finish, but I'm not confident those rubbery aromas will dissipate. 447 cases produced.