Santa-Rita Hills Pinot Noir 2023 Racines Wines | California

Racines Wines ’ Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir is the result of a union of exceptional expertise. The result of a collaboration between Étienne de Montille, Brian Sieve, and Rodolphe Peters—joined by Justin Willett—this cuvée is a blend of some of the most remarkable terroirs in the Santa Rita Hills appellation in California. The vines, planted on complex, loamy soils blending calcareous clay, limestone, and marine schist, benefit from the cooling influence of the Pacific Ocean, which promotes a slow and precise ripening of the Pinot Noir. This unique terroir gives the wine structure without heaviness, resulting in a cuvée of finesse and aromatic intensity.

Philippe Mischler, sommelier at Mundovin: This 2021 Santa Rita Hills from Racines Wines is a Pinot Noir of rare precision. It combines the sun-kissed concentration of California with the tension of Champagne and the elegance of Burgundy. The quartet’s signature style, enhanced by Domaine De Montille’s plot-by-plot approach, results in a perfectly crafted wine of remarkable balance. A red that is both approachable in its youth and built for aging. A fine example of the union between the excellence of Champagne and Burgundy and the richness of the Californian terroir.

On the nose, the wine develops an expressive bouquet of red and black fruits—cherry, raspberry, blackberry—enriched with floral notes of peony and iris. With aeration, the wine gains complexity with elegant notes of black tea infusion and clove. There is also a subtle varietal touch, a sign of whole-cluster winemaking, which lends the wine a sense of verticality.

On the palate, the Pinot Noir displays a fine, dense body, supported by a silky tannic structure. The natural acidity, characteristic of Santa Rita Hills, brings a lovely freshness and prolongs the aromas on the finish. The overall impression is harmonious, dynamic, and incredibly seductive. It is a wine of pure expression, both vibrant and deep.