2021 Domaine De La Côte Pinot Noir La Côte Estate
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S$36397
Vintage: 2021
Region: Santa Barbara, California
Country: USA
Domaine De La Cote
The Sta. Rita Hills are unique among winegrowing places, an austere and somewhat harsh place in which to produce subtle wines from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, varieties long associated with gentler locales. We lie in the contested space between that vast, frigid, tumultuous sea and an equally expansive, severe, arid desert. We came to this place seeking an antithesis of the preordained richness of new world winelands, where plump and generous wines seemed inevitable, in search of a site that compels vines and people together to struggle in a productive way that can be overcome only by hands and effort, observation, and ingenuity. We sought an incisive place that would scrape away a wine’s uncomplicated flesh to reveal the muscle, bone, and organ that become the contour, nuance, and novelty of wines unique to this place. Finding a place where nature inexorably imposes its aesthetic we hope allows us, through viticultural choices and straightforward winemaking, to discern and clarify its signal.
The process, not just the product, nurtures us. A goal since breaking ground in 2006 was to be able to pose questions to the vineyard, as to an oracle, about elements and earth, about wine, about the nature of life itself. Answers came first as vines that lived and claimed a foothold in the earth and blossomed and grew strong. Then as grapes, small in volume but dense with matter, energy, and potential. And finally as wines, each year more pure and original, more beguiling and eloquent. Each year, the same questions elicit new answers, which we mull over and chew on and drink deeply of, and which ultimately further this story, our story, propelling us exhilaratingly into the new vintage.
Domaine De La Cote
The Sta. Rita Hills are unique among winegrowing places, an austere and somewhat harsh place in which to produce subtle wines from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, varieties long associated with gentler locales. We lie in the contested space between that vast, frigid, tumultuous sea and an equally expansive, severe, arid desert. We came to this place seeking an antithesis of the preordained richness of new world winelands, where plump and generous wines seemed inevitable, in search of a site that compels vines and people together to struggle in a productive way that can be overcome only by hands and effort, observation, and ingenuity. We sought an incisive place that would scrape away a wine’s uncomplicated flesh to reveal the muscle, bone, and organ that become the contour, nuance, and novelty of wines unique to this place. Finding a place where nature inexorably imposes its aesthetic we hope allows us, through viticultural choices and straightforward winemaking, to discern and clarify its signal.
The process, not just the product, nurtures us. A goal since breaking ground in 2006 was to be able to pose questions to the vineyard, as to an oracle, about elements and earth, about wine, about the nature of life itself. Answers came first as vines that lived and claimed a foothold in the earth and blossomed and grew strong. Then as grapes, small in volume but dense with matter, energy, and potential. And finally as wines, each year more pure and original, more beguiling and eloquent. Each year, the same questions elicit new answers, which we mull over and chew on and drink deeply of, and which ultimately further this story, our story, propelling us exhilaratingly into the new vintage.
The 2021 Pinot Noir Estate includes some destemmed fruit in an otherwise 100% wholecluster house, making it a touch more approachable than the single-vineyard cuvées. Pale ruby in color, it offers pure pomegranate, blueberries and bitter orange aromas with touches of gravel dust. The light-bodied palate is elegantly structured with powdery tannins and fresh acidity, boasting generous fruits and a long, citrus-tinged finish.
I met with winemaker Sashi Moorman at Domaine de la Côte (DLC) in the winter of 2022, where inevitably the discussion turned to Burgundy and the prohibitive pricing in the region, echoing a common query of mentors and wine students alike: how are new customers supposed to explore new regions when they have to spend $1,000 just to try it? This 2021 Pinot Noir Estate is the only blended wine in the DLC portfolio, made from single-vineyard wines that did not make it to those bottlings. "I would love it if more Burgundy houses would do this, rather than selling off the wine," Moorman says. "It serves two purposes: to lower the price of the estate wine, plus improve the quality of the main cuvées." Prices of DLC have also risen as the brand has grown in popularity. Despite its three-digit price tag, Moorman hopes this estate Pinot can reach an audience of newer, younger drinkers while delivering the same quality as its more expensive peers in Burgundy.
96 Pts Wine Advocate
"The 2021 Pinot Noir La Côte is an energetic wine with plenty of aging potential. In the last couple of years, production from this nine-acre vineyard was halved when the team realized wine quality was better from the top portion of the vineyard, where it is shaly and better protected. Fruit from the bottom half of the vineyard is now allotted to the Pinot Noir Estate. Medium ruby and aromatically layered, it offers scents of pomegranate, cranberries and blackberries with nuances of graphite, lavender and amaro. Medium-bodied, its concentrated fruits are supported by powdery tannins and bright bursts of acidity, and it finishes with detailed accents of bitters and botanicals."
