Hitching Post Perfect Set Pinot Noir 2013
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Wilfred
Wong
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
Finding a place between delicate and powerful, the 2013 Hitching Post Perfect Set shows how the grape variety's intricacies can be difficult to understand. This wine plays it well and shows plenty of beautiful and alluring ripe wild strawberry aromas before coating the palate with a firmness of black fruits, earth, and sweet tannins. Pair with grilled lamb. Drinks quite well now. (Tasted: August 22, 2016, San Francisco, CA)
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
A superior source of California Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills is the coolest, westernmost sub-region of the larger Santa Ynez Valley appellation within Santa Barbara County. This relatively new AVA is unquestionably one to keep an eye on.
The climate of Sta. Rita Hills is a natural match for Chardonnay and Pinot noir, thanks to the crisp ocean breezes and well-drained, limestone-rich calcareous soil. Here, grapes ripen just enough, while retaining brisk acidity and harmonious balance.