2019 Sandhi Sanford & Benedict

Product description

This delectable, single-vineyard Pinot Noir is a beautifully layered and nuanced wine with notes of sweet red cherry, pomegranate, blood orange, mint and white pepper. The wine is wonderfully deep, fleshy and nuanced.

The north-facing Sandford & Benedict vineyard, where it all started for this region in the 1970s, Moorman explains is colluvial soil made up of slope wash from the mountains and periodic flooding of the river. It is well-drained but rich, its north-facing aspect helps to retain the brilliant acidity apparent in the wine. It is this relative richness of the soil that explains the absence of the heavily reduced aromas: there are enough nutrients in the soil and therefore in the fruit to ensure a stress-free ferment.

• “Sandhi,”in Moorman’s words, “is the brainchild of Raj Parr” who was on a mission to “find a place where he could grow Chardonnay at the level of fine Burgundy.” This turned out to be the Santa Rita Hills that share the latitude of Tunisia and the heat summation of Champagne. Sandhi’s focus is on Chardonnay. 2010 was the first vintage

93+ points - Robert Parker

93 points - Vinous.com