2017 Pinot Noir Old Guard

Matt Dees and his team continue to make superb wines at their three Santa Barbara wineries: Jonata, The Hilt and The Paring. This year, I was especially impressed by the 2017 Pinots, as they are so outstanding, not just on their own, but relative to peers, in a challenging year for Pinot. Interestingly, the 2017 Chardonnays are less interesting. I suspect much of that has to do with the fact that the Pinots focus more on estate fruit, while the Chardonnays rely more on purchased grapes. Readers will also note the introduction of two new vineyard-designates. In the past, the Pinots and Chardonnays here have always been blends, so it will be interesting to see the shape the wines take in coming years.

It is always a thrill to taste through The Hilt's range with winemaker Matt Dees and his team. For some reason, these wines really suffer from a lack of visibility, and yet their quality is stunning across the range. In the introduction to this article, I wrote that Santa Barbara wines are underpriced relative to global peers. The Hilt was one of the estates I had in mind when I wrote those words.

The bottled 2016s are just as exciting as they were when I tasted them last year from barrel. At this stage, Pinot appears to have the upper hand over Chardonnay in the young 2017s. As a reminder, the Vanguard series wines are done in a more forward, fruit-driven style, while the Old Guard wines emphasize tension and structure. These remain some of the most compelling Chardonnays and Pinots being made in the United States today. That's all there is to it.