2018 Pinot Noir John Sebastiano
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From a vineyard on the other side of the Sta. Rita Hills from Peake Ranch, the 2018 Pinot Noir John Sebastiano Vineyard has a slightly more vibrant style in its black raspberry, violets, Bing cherry, and sappy flower aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied, with beautiful purity and elegant, it's another terrific wine from this up-and-coming estate that warrants attention. A relatively new estate in Santa Barbara County, Peake Ranch was created by John and Gill Wagner, who released their first wines in 2015. The estate lies on the eastern end of the Sta. Rita Hills, and they pull from both their Peake Ranch Estate Vineyard around the property as well as the John Sebastiano Vineyard, which John partially owns. The wines have been made by Paul Lato since 2015, yet starting in 2017, the winemaking has slowly moved over to the current winemaker Wynne Solomon. Wynne worked with Lato on both the 2017s and 2018s and has been fully in charge since 2019. These are incredible wines, and as I’ve written in the past, readers need to get on this estate’s bandwagon!
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Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2018 Pinot Noir John Sebastiano Vineyard is nervous and tightly wound, but there is a good bit of fruit behind all of that energy. Crushed flowers, mint, autumn leaves and dried herbs open up in the bouquet, where the wine is at its most expressive. Readers should be prepared to cellar the 2018 for at least a year or two.
A barrel sample, the pale to medium ruby-purple colored 2018 Pinot Noir John Sebastiano Vineyard opens with a pow! on the youthful nose, giving up aromas of violet, lilac, fresh blueberry and boysenberry jam with cinnamon, orange peel, macerated strawberries, baked rhubarb and dried red cherry plus dried leaves and dusty earth accents. Medium-bodied, it offers oodles of perfumed, purely defined fruits with grainy-textured tannins and lip-smacking acidity, finishing spicy. What a pretty expression!