2016 Lutum Pinot Noir Sanford & Benedict Vineyard Sta. Rita Hills
There's a very special character to Santa Barbara region pinots that calls up the skin of a just-picked fresh tomato that's as much about the sweet skin as it is the distinctive aroma bestowed on it by the tomato leaves. Add in some earthy chiogga beet and a pinch of thyme, and you've got the classic pinot of this region. This wine, from one of the region's best vineyards, has all that in spades. But in sweetness and body it's restrained, closer to a 1er Burgundy than Sonoma, which most people think of as California pinot, to the north. Best American pinot I've had in awhile.
