Aether, Pinot Noir, Sanford & Benedict, Sta Rita Hills, California, 2019

Overview of the Wine
We have all the instruments and algorithms that modern vintners use, and these are helpful for making the wine hold together in the bottle. We see to the technical components, the raw materials, fruit, sourcing, uniqueness of terroir; all of the observational, empirical inputs that can be captured in a spreadsheet. But wine has ideas of its own.

What begins as naked elements puts on character with age. Wine has culture that can be cultivated or interrupted from moment to moment and hour to hour. With just enough warmth and care and lightness of hand, it develops soul. Not unlike you or me. Great wine is part biochemistry and part neurochemistry. There can be subliminal, subconscious responses to wine that remove it from the realm of a beverage and elevate it to something with the capacity to deliver a transcendent experience.

Winemaker
Jeff Fink

Grape / Blend
Pinot Noir

Origin
Sta. Rita Hills, Santa Barbara, California

Winemaker's Tasting Notes
Silky, smooth, sensuous and multi-layered showing a floral nose with mineral notes. This wine was produced from Clone 115 Pinot Noir grown in gravelly shallow clay loam. At once serious and refined, it is surprisingly accessible for such a young wine. Harvested September 18, 2019. 

95 Points - The Wine Palate (2015 Vintage)
The 2015 Pinot Noir Sanford & Benedict Vineyard has a pale ruby-brick color. Notes of tobacco, new leather, and dried cranberries and preserved cherries jump from the glass, leading to hints of cinnamon stick and dried roses. The medium-bodied palate is elegant and refreshing with emerging tertiary flavors and silky tannins, finishing long and earthy.

Product size: 750ml