The Hilt 2021 Pinot Noir “Radian Vineyard” Santa Rita Hills 97 Points

Jeb Dunnuck 97 Points: “I loved the 2021 Pinot Noir Radian Vineyard, which has a vivid, perfumed, exotic bouquet of black raspberries, spring flowers, violets, graphite, and chalky minerality. I love its purity, and it’s medium-bodied, with an incredible sense of refinement and class and a great finish. Coming from a rocky hillside vineyard on the southern side of the Sta. Rita Hills, this incredible Pinot Noir will benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age and cruise in cold cellars over the following decade or more.”

Vinous 97 Points: “A bright, nervy wine, the 2021 Pinot Noir Radian captures all the natural intensity of this site on the far edge of the Sta. Rita Hills. Bright acids and veins of minerality infuse the 2021 with tremendous character. Dark red/purplish fruit, lavender, crushed rocks, graphite, and dried herbs are some of the many notes that race across the palate. This just sizzles with energy. It’s a great example from the western edge of the appellation.”

Matt Dees, Winemaker: “So much going on with this wine, I could write a book. A flower that opens very slowly. Violet candies, black cherry, resin, and lavender. Wet stones, pine forest, and blackberry. Driven by dark fruit on the attack. Notes of dried strawberry and rosemary alongside charcoal and crushed rock. Sauteed chanterelle. Simultaneously full of black fruit and completely earth-driven and defined by a gently gripping structure. Savory and dense. Energetic with black plum. Reduced and tightly coiled. A legendary Radian pinot noir in the making. One can taste the long, cool growing season and extended hang time in the balanced and mouthwatering fruit. Nervy and stacked with layer after complex layer.