The 2022 Chardonnay (Sta. Rita Hills) is a fabulous introduction to the range. Served last in this series of Chardonnays, the appellation Chardonnay is perhaps a bit more floral and lighter in body, but other than that, it is in no way inferior to the vineyard designates. This is beautifully done. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, August 2024)
— 4 months ago
2020 With Thanksgiving dinner. — 23 days ago
Wes Hagen, 20 year veteran wine maker at Clos Pepe Vineyard, joined our group and gave us a master class in Santa Barbara pinot noir. We tried 11 PNs from 2004-2010, made by Loring, AP Vin, Sandler, Siduri, and Brewer-Clifton. This 2009 Loring had the meaty flavors that I love in a great US PN. — 9 months ago
This was part of a series that Greg Brewer bottled at Melville back in the early 2000s. At that time Melville had 14 different clones under vine, I believe. The Estate was a variable blend of some fraction of these, but being a student of pinot Greg thought it would be cool to bottle a bunch of the clones as single-clone offering to people who might geek out about trying to identify different clonal components in the various main offerings, trying some blending at home, etc. (basically, me as the target audience). I was stunned at how well this wine is still drinking after 14+ years. Beautiful, deep ruby-red color, the wine still had an impressive amount of fruit, great balance, and that tell-tale spiciness that is characteristic of wines from their Santa Rita Hills vineyards. Really terrific! — 4 years ago
[Tasted on September 29, 2024 at Home]
Wine is Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir. Cherry SweeTarts, red plum, tobacco, graphite, smoke and spice. — 3 months ago
The 2022 Pinot Noir Machado is a pretty wine with understated density and terrific balance. Dark red/purplish fruit, lavender, rose petal, mint, spice and blood orange fill out the layers. Machado is the most reticent of the vineyard designates. It will be interesting to see what time brings here. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, August 2024)
— 4 months ago
Fantastic pinot from Greg Brewer at Brewer-Clifton. Usually I find his pinots need a few more years in bottle to really sing, and while this one is going to get better with more time, it’s terrific right now. Drinks like a CA version of a Premier Cru burgundy. Terrific. — 4 years ago
Arvind Sharma
Medium acidity. Light and clean taste. A little ‘bolder’ than a typical Pinot. Very, very good. Would definitely buy again. — a month ago