Summerland Pinot Noir Clone 667 Fiddlestix Vineyard Santa Rita Hills 2021

We like watching which wines you immediately come back for more of. This startlingly good Pinot Noir – grown at the elite Fiddlestix Vineyard in Santa Barbara – ranks as one of our most reordered bottles AND it boasts a 94 point score. Under $20?! Get more while we still have it.

This simply tastes way too deep, elegant, and delicious to be $19.95. Savory, tongue-soaking layers flash between dark and bright tones. The energy stays high, and that hit of Sta. Rita Hills saline has our mouths watering as the fruit gushes. It’s not your imagination that this is really good. You’re getting 69% off the retail price of $65. The fruit comes from a top-tier site planted by Central Coast pioneer Kathy Joseph in 1998. Critic-darling wineries like Dragonette charge upwards of $90 for their Fiddlestix releases. This is what we call a find!

We’ve got black cherry vibing against freshly mashed strawberry. Then powdery allspice and cinnamon meld with freshly upturned soil for the prettiest earthy perfume at the back of the palate. The beautifully integrated acidity makes this highly drinkable, we’d even say quenching. Winemaker Ron Hill is working solely with Dijon clone 667 here, focusing on depth, racing energy, and delicate spice. In their 94-point review, Wine Enthusiast noted “elegant touches of lilac.” This is very hard to beat for the price.

As with most great bottles, it’s less about winemaking and more about place. Fiddlestix is in legendary company. Vineyards like Sanford & Benedict and La Rinconada are across the road, and Sea Smoke and Rita’s Crown are further up the hill. The valley has a rare east-west orientation, which allows constant cooling from the Pacific Ocean. Well-draining clay and marine shale soils contain generous silica, hence that luscious saline minerality we mentioned. Get as much of this as you can, and enjoy it to the fullest over the next five years.