2023 Sanford & Benedict Pinot Noir

Making wine from Sanford & Benedict is a privilege. The fruit for this wine is from the original 1971 own-rooted plantings, the genesis of Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir. This vineyard has been tended from the start with love and care, resulting in vines that produce wines of amazing complexity and striking purity. The 2023 growing season offered ideal conditions — moderate temperatures with cooling fog influence from the Pacific, just 10 miles away. The distinctive Botella clay loam and Santa Lucia shale soils impart a mineral backbone that has become the signature of this vineyard. We harvested in the pre-dawn hours when temperatures were at their coolest, hand-selecting clusters before a careful sort at the winery. We fermented with 28% whole clusters to enhance aromatic complexity, after a 6-day cold soak with native yeasts and minimal intervention — one gentle punch-down daily. The wine remained on skins for 15 days and aged for 11 months. The 2023 is a taut, crunchy Pinot that wears its cool ocean climate on its sleeve. Vibrant ruby with garnet edges. On the nose: wild strawberry, Bing cherry, crushed rose petals, orange zest, and the forest floor notes that come with old own-rooted vines. The palate brings black tea, dried herbs, and a persistent stony minerality. This wine has an energy and life that is hard to describe, and even harder to find. Fine-grained tannins and bright natural acidity give it tension and focus — its immediate charm makes it irresistible now. Drink it now — it’s already showing well. Or hold it three to five years and it’ll become something exceptional. Either way, bring food: salmon, roast duck, mushroom dishes, or a wedge of aged hard cheese.