2022 Whitcraft, Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills AVA, Santa Barbara County.
The light ruby hue in the glass belies the depth, complexity and elegance found on the silken medium bodied palate here in Whitcraft’s beautiful appellation bottling from the Sta. Rita Hills with layers of pure and stony Pinot fruits, delicate spices, ultra pretty rose petal and lilac florals, a subtle earthy note, along with low alcohol freshness and a long finish make this wine very compelling. This vintage saw a who’s who of elite Pinot Noir sites within the Sta. Rita Hills, including Pence, Donnachadh, Fiddlestix, Sanford & Benedict, La Rinconada, and Radian vineyards, all of which combine to enhance the soulful and top quality nature of this brilliant native yeast fermented, unfined and unfiltered California Pinot Noir, which was aged about a year in used French oak. Even with some spiky heat and difficult conditions, winemaker Drake Whitcraft did his usual magic here, this 2022 comes in just about 13% and is very well balanced, adding some wild strawberry, pomegranate, chalky notes and stemmy cinnamon to the core of crushed raspberry and dark cherry fruits.
The Whitcraft Winery, as mentioned before in my prior reviews, (was) founded back in 1985 by Chris Whitcraft, who had hosted a local wine radio program in Santa Barbara County for more than a decade helping him get to know the famous local and California winemakers of the time. It is noted, by the winery, that Whitcraft learned his craft from some of the best winemakers in California, including legends like Joe Heitz (Heitz Cellars), Dick Graff (Founder of Chalone Winery and its AVA), and Burt Williams (Williams Selyem & Morning Dew Ranch) to name a few. Sadly and too young Chris passed away in 2014, but his son Drake, a talent in his own right, continues to carry on and is making seriously good and age worthy wines, with a non intervention and more natural approach, such as this one. These 22’s are showing fantastic, like this one, and the already reviewed single vineyard Radian, so I’m really excited to see how Drake’s 2023s turn out, as it was such a perfect cool vintage for Chardonnay and especially Pinot Noir! The Sta. Rita Hills, with its windy and well drained sandy soils, continues to be one of the state’s hot spots for cool climate wines and Whitcraft’s efforts are not to be missed!
($55 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive