2019 Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir
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The 2019 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills from Peake Ranch, matured in 45% new oak, is a beautiful wine that outperforms its appellation status. Pale ruby-purple, it has fragrant wildflower, bitter citrus and Angostura bitters aromas with a core of red berry fruits and a bright line of crushed stone-like mineral character. The palate offers equal intensity of flavor, its perfumed fruits supported by dusty tannins and seamless acidity, and it finishes with ethereal layers that urge you back for another sip. 942 cases were made, so it should be easier to find than some of the smaller single-vineyard cuvées from Peake Ranch.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Jeb Dunnuck
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The 2019 Pinot Noir Peake Ranch Vineyard shows the boisterous exuberance of the Sta. Rita Hills in its red/purplish fruit. Floral, spice and cedar add aromatic top notes. This site, planted with Hyde and Calera clones, yields an incredibly distinctive wine.
Moving to the Pinot Noirs, the appellation 2019 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills comes from a mix of the vineyards the estate works with and was destemmed and aged 16 months in 45% new French oak. Medium ruby-hued, with a great nose of spiced raspberry and cherry fruits, it's medium-bodied and has a light, graceful texture, plenty of spice and floral nuances, no hard edges, and perfectly integrated oak. It should keep for 4-6 years.
Based on Pinot Noir, the 2019 Rosé of Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills reveals a light pink color as well as Provençal notes of tart strawberries, orange blossom, and salty spice. Beautifully textured, elegant, and seamless, it's a top-notch rosé. A relatively new estate in Santa Barbara County, Peake Ranch was created by John and Gill Wagner, who released their first wines in 2015. The estate lies on the eastern end of the Sta. Rita Hills, and they pull from both their Peake Ranch Estate Vineyard around the property as well as the John Sebastiano Vineyard, which John partially owns. The wines have been made by Paul Lato since 2015, yet starting in 2017, the winemaking has slowly moved over to the current winemaker Wynne Solomon. Wynne worked with Lato on both the 2017s and 2018s and has been fully in charge since 2019. These are incredible wines, and as I’ve written in the past, readers need to get on this estate’s bandwagon!