2015 Huber Vineyard Pinot Noir - Sweetzer Cellars

Maraschino cherry, fresh lavender, pomegranate juice. Juicy boysenberry, peat moss, cranberry cocktail. Powdered nutmeg and clove, tree bark and fallen pine cone. Warm expansive red fruit led by strawberry preserve and Santa Rosa plum - aided by a bit of licorice - barrels down upon undergrowth and evergreen in a display of dominance. Succulent and lush while maintaining substantial structure and sizzle. Behind the rockstar fruit and forest tones lies earthy notes of sand, light clay, and sea salt. This 2015 Huber Vineyard Pinot Noir by Sweetzer Cellars is gorgeously ripe and opulent juice from the Santa Rita Hills.

Despite being one of the older vineyards in Santa Barbara's Santa Rita Hills appellation the Huber Vineyard has largely remained hidden in plain sight. It is located directly south of Highway 246 across the road from more famous vineyards like Clos Pepe, Babcock, and Melville. This bottling, crafted by Sweetzer Cellars, shows that the Huber Vineyard has just as much to offer as its well-regarded neighbors. It has produced a wine here that is booming with energy and intensity without masking masterful secondary flavors. While generous in proportion this wine exhibits excellent typicity and a distinct sense of place right down to that little bit of SRH salinity. This stuff is big yet balanced, and it's safe to say that Sweetzer has impressed us again here.