Nose
The velvety nose yields a strawberry/ perfume quality backed by straw accents.
Palate
Dried cherries lesd the palate, followed by hints of wild strawberries. A lovely florality shines before ending on a spicy note.
Growing Conditions
Bien Nacido, a nine hundred acre vineyard in Santa Maria, is well known for it's chardonnay and pinot noir plantings. For years STEELE has sourced pinot from this famous site for our vineyard designated "Block N' bottling. For the Santa Barbara label we pick from Block F, a younger-vine benchland site, and blend it with grapes from the lower elevation Goodchild Vineyard. The interplay between the Bien Nacido's Dijon Clones and the Goodchild's Pommard make for a wine of great nuance and harmony.
Winemaking
We take a hands-off approach with our pinots beginning with "rollers out" at the crusher, a process where the berries are left virtually intact at destemming. From there it's a largely kid-glove handling of slow fermentation and long, gentle pressing.
Aging
Resting the finished wine in oak (30% new French) for about eight months.
Food Pairing
Roast pheasant with a cherry and almond chutney, or with creamy polenta with mushrooms and eggplant.
