The Hilt Estate Pinot Noir 2016 | Elegant, Complex & Powerful
The Hilt Estate Pinot Noir 2016 is exotic and perfumed with an enticing combination of black, green and red notes. In addition, black pepper, blackberry, Balaton cherry, and purple sage. Absolutely jumps out of the glass. Defined by velvet attack and silky texture that are the trademarks of the 2016 vintage. While a powerful inner perfume mingles with powdered tannins.
Read all about Winemaker Matt Dees
93JD | The Hilt Estate Pinot Noir 2016 is the larger production red from this team. Yet it certainly gives a good view of the quality coming from the Hilt wines. While black cherries, black raspberries, graphite, peppery herbs, and underbrush notes flow to a medium-bodied, supple, beautifully layered Pinot Noir that has ripe, present tannins, plenty of mid-palate flesh, and remarkable purity. Drink it any time over the coming 7-8 years.
Santa Rita Hills AVA & Rancho Salsipuede
They found the perfect place in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA, at a site called Rancho Salsipuedes. The property boasts the best of what makes Sta. Rita Hills one of Santa Barbara’s top sites for Pinot Noir. It encompasses the rugged terrain of two renown vineyards, both primary sources for The Hilt’s blend: Radian, as well as the rolling hills of Bedrock, which are quite reminiscent of the Côte d’Or. The site enjoys the persistent winds and cooling influence of the Pacific, which keep acidity optimal even as the California sun radiates warmth down on the vines.
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The Hilt Estate Pinot Noir 2016 comes from Rancho Salsipuedes, whose forbidding Sta. Rita Hills terrain exposes steeply-sloped vines to powerful, energizing Pacific winds, which makes it “a grower’s nightmare, but a winemaker’s dream. This unique microclimate turned out a “full-bodied, layered, and velvety,” wine.
Winemaker Matt Dees
“Winemaker Matt Dees has an impeccable pedigree: In addition to his time alongside Andy Erickson in Napa, he has a degree in soil science, early experience working with Burgundy varieties at New Zealand’s Craggy Range, and a proven record of Santa Barbara County excellence. The Wine Advocate has called The Hilt “an estate whose future is very bright,” but we take issue with that assessment. With Matt Dees at the helm, The Hilt’s time is right now. Don’t miss out on this The Hilt Pinot Noir 2014 gem.
