2012 Brewer-Clifton Pinot Noir 459 Vineyard

My favorite in the lineup, the 2012 Pinot Noir 459 offers incredible notes of rose petal, freshly snipped flowers, underbrush and black cherry fruit. More elegant and seamless that the other releases, with medium-bodied richness, thrilling purity of fruit and a terrific finish, this is an awesome bottle of Pinot Noir from the team at Brewer-Clifton. Enjoy bottles anytime over the coming 7-8 years, although I suspect it will evolve nicely for longer given its overall balance and harmony. Steve Clifton and Greg Brewer continue to produce a bevy of beautiful releases from the Sta. Rita Hills. Looking at their latest releases, their 2012 Pinot Noirs are superb and check in near the top of the vintage. While the Chardonnays are solid, and in some cases outstanding, I thought they lacked concentration and had too much acidity for their own good. Looking at the Pinot Noirs, which as a whole I found more successful than the Chardonnays, these were all harvested on the same date, fermented with 100% whole cluster and aged in neutral oak. Tel. (805) 735-9184; www.brewerclifton.com