Chanin Sanford and Benedict Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir 2022 (750ml)

Gavin Chanin learned his craft early. He worked his first harvest at 18 at Au Bon Climat under Santa Barbara County legend Jim Clendenen and made his first wine under his own name three years later, while still earning an art degree at UCLA. Each bottle still carries one of his own paintings on the label, and the same artist’s sensibility guides the winemaking. He picks early to keep alcohol in check and favors elegance, restraint and a clear sense of place, an approach that has made him one of California’s most admired young winemakers. Few sites show place better than Sanford & Benedict. In 1971, botanist Michael Benedict and his partner Richard Sanford planted vines on a cool hillside west of Buellton, convinced that this corner of Santa Barbara County could grow world-class Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. They were right. Their vineyard became the founding site of what is now the Sta. Rita Hills, an appellation shaped by valleys that run east to west, channeling cold Pacific wind and fog inland, with sandy, marine-derived soils and a long, slow ripening season. More than fifty years later, it remains one of the most celebrated Pinot Noir vineyards in the country. The 2022 season brought low yields, a moderate spring and summer, and a Labor Day heat wave that sped up the start of harvest. The wines from this vintage combine concentration and depth with real freshness. In Chanin’s hands, this is a graceful, layered Pinot Noir that speaks of its historic site and the cool coast that shapes it.