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Brewer-Clifton
Brewer-Clifton 2021 Chardonnay, Santa Rita Hills
$ 37.99
95 points
New limited Chardonnay release from the famed Brewer-Clifton label in Santa Barbara! The wines of Brewer-Clifton represent the essence of the best vineyards in the Santa Rita Hills area and focus on the production of single vineyard-designated Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from carefully selected vineyards in the SRH appellation.
previous ratings 95 Points Jeb Dunnuck: "One of the great values out there, the Brewer-Clifton Chardonnay Sta. Rita Hills offers thrilling notes of white flowers, white peach, currants, and toasted bread. This ripe, sexy wine is unquestionably at the same level as the more expensive single vineyard releases, and it will evolve for just as long...This was another thrilling lineup from Greg Brewer, and I consistently rate these wines as some of the greatest in the Sta. Rita Hills, as well as all of Santa Barbara County. These are brilliant wines."
93 Points Antonio Galloni (Vinous): " The Brewer-Clifton Chardonnay (Sta. Rita Hills) is a gorgeous appellation-level wine from Brewer-Clifton. Creamy and ample, the 2017 is absolutely delicious. Tangerine, mint, lemon peel and sweet spice notes all meld together in a striking, nuanced Chardonnay that hits all the right notes. Positively stellar. That's pretty much all there is to it."
As readers will know, the Brewer-Clifton wines see no new oak at all. "I want all the expression and the decadence to come from the outside, so I use very old barrels and no stirring for Chardonnay," Greg explains. "Chardonnay is whole-cluster pressed, and the Pinot Noirs are whole-cluster fermented, from 70% to 100% for the single-vineyard designates. For me, stems are like a corset. We have so much fruit out here. I’ve spent 25 years working with stems as a means of framing and corseting, so we work with stems to shape and lift."
Brewer-Clifton 2021 Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills
$ 44.99
New limited Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir from the famed Brewer-Clifton team.
previous vintage 94 Points Jeb Dunnuck: "Gorgeous kirsch and framboise fruits as well as spice and dried flower notes all emerge from the Brewer-Clifton Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills. It's a fresher, more elegant example from this great estate, with a solid spine of acidity, beautiful balance, and a great, great finish. It's brilliant today but will be even better with another year of bottle age and keep for at least 10-15 years in cold cellars."
Brewer-Clifton's owner and winemaker is founding member Greg Brewer. Greg started his career as a French instructor at UC Santa Barbara before being trained in wine production at Santa Barbara Winery starting in 1991. He created his eponymous label, Brewer-Clifton with original partner Steve Clifton in 1996 and was the winemaker at another Santa Barbara County winery from its inception in 1997 through the end of 2015. Greg additionally created the label, Diatom, focusing on starkly raised Chardonnay, and Ex Post Facto, a Santa Barbara County Syrah. The entirety of his career has been committed to the Sta. Rita Hills appellation, which he helped to map, define, and establish in 1997.
In the December 2001 Wine Advocate, Robert Parker Jr. wrote in his year-end summary that “The wines of Brewer-Clifton were the single greatest revelation of all of [his] 2001 tastings.”
Brewer-Clifton 2018 Machado Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills
$ 79.99
97 pts
New limited Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir from the famed Brewer-Clifton team. Extremely Limited.
96 Points Wine Enthusiast: "Joyous and aromatically arresting scents of creamy black cherry, black raspberry, licorice and black cardamom grab hold of the nose and don't waver on this bottling. Deep and dark fruit flavors mix with hints of dank herb, tarragon and even cannabis on the palate, where the acidity is penetrating and persistent."
95 Points Robert Parker: "The 2018 Pinot Noir Machado has a medium ruby color and deep, layered aromas of pure violet, garrigue, laurel, aniseed and forest floor, seamlessly accenting a core of black and red berries. The palate is medium-bodied with loads of lift and silkiness, elegantly fruited and with a long, ethereal finish. 675 cases produced."
Brewer-Clifton is both a pioneer in the wine history of Sta. Rita Hills and one of its finest producers. Greg Brewer knows every nook and cranny of this vinous wonderland and securing access to the Machado Vineyard may be one of his finest moves. The vineyard is auspiciously perched next to and overlooking the famed Clos Pepe and Kessler-Haak vineyards situated in the north center part of the appellation. This spot witnesses some of the most extreme diurnal temperature swings, resulting in grapes of intense complexity. Greg uses whole-cluster fermentation, which adds another dynamic to the wine, and he employs neutral oak barrels exclusively to let the fruit do the talking.
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