2018 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir Sanford & Benedict Vineyard

This is a chardonnay with an intelligent and perfectly dosed wood aging. The winemaker Jim Clendenen is a wonderful and very sensitive winemaker who is mainly known worldwide for his work on terroir identification in California, for the plantings of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The man conducted groundbreaking historical research into Burgundy from the 'pré-chardonnay' era, when white Burgundies were made from Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and Aligoté. His wines are an ode to minerals, have an exceptional depth and are of absolute world class.

The Pinot Noir Sanford & Benedict Vineyard is one of the great Pinot vineyards of the world. The wine has a nose of perfumed red and black cherries, star anise and earth. The palate is silky and expansive with nuanced, spicy berries boosted by nice acidity, with a long finish. Scored 95+ points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate; 94 points Wine & Spirits Magazine; 92 points Wine lover; 90 points wine.

The vineyard was planted in 1971 and the pinot noir was selected from the oldest part of the Sanford & Benedict Vineyard, located in the very cool Sta. Rita Hills - one of America's great Pinot vineyards.

After careful hand picking in the early morning hours, the grapes arrived nice and cold at the winery. Cool grapes allow time for cold soaking and slower fermentation. During the cold, prolonged soaking, the fruit-driven aromas and flavors come out of the grapes much better. The slower fermentation also aided in the gradual extraction of additional aromas and flavors as the alcohol content slowly increases. 50% of the fruit was fermented in whole bunches to further increase intensity and spice. The wine is further aged in new French oak Francois Frères barrels. and was left in the barrel for a total of 22 months and was then bottled unfiltered and after this the wine had some further bottle maturation.