2016 Pinot Noir Sanford & Benedict Vineyard
$70 (2021)
United States
Sta. Rita Hills, Santa Barbara County
California
Red
Pinot Noir (2022 vintage)
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2016
2020 - 2026
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Gavin Chanin's 2016s are very pretty and expressive wines. In 2016, the wines are built on a sense of translucence and weightless elegance, with a bit less overt textural richness than in some other previous years. Harvest started on August 12, a bit later than 2014 and 2015, but still very early. That precocious start helped Chanin avoid the heat spikes that arrived in September. Chanin told me he makes his Chanin and Lutum Chardonnays more or less in the same style, with no bâtonnage and only about 15% new oak. Stylistic choices are a bit more divergent within the Pinots, which see a bit of whole cluster influence at Chanin and none at Lutum. François Frères is the cooper of choice.
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2022
2024 - 2032
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Gavin Chanin presented a stellar set of 2022s. The Chardonnays are especially of note, as they are at many addresses. “The timing of harvest was the most critical element in 2022," Chanin explained. "We picked 90% of the fruit over 7 days as opposed to the 21 or so that is more typical for us.” As always, these poised, elegant wines speak to balance and site expression above all else.
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2021
2023 - 2033
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Gavin Chanin describes 2021 as a mostly cool, sunny year, with cool weather also during flowering that resulted in smaller berries with thicker skins. The wines are gorgeous. The Chardonnays are pressed to barrel, with no settling, where they stay for 13-14 months before being racked for the first time and moved back into wood. Pinot Noirs typically see 35-50% whole clusters, but stems are rarely a pronounced signature. The Chanin wines stand out for their understated finesse and elegance. In 2021, the Chardonnays are especially fine.
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2020
2024 - 2035
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Gavin Chanin presented a compelling set of 2020s. The Chardonnays in particular are brilliant. Chanin describes 2020 as a year of two vintages: before the heat and after. Like so many of his colleagues, Chanin dealt with an extremely condensed harvest, as 80% of the fruit came in over just four days at the end of August and early September. I find the Chardonnays offer a bit more depth and site character, but all the wines are super-expressive.
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2019
2023 - 2034
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This is a beautiful set of 2019s from Gavin Chanin. The wines are understated yet deep, with fabulous expression of site. Chanin describes 2019 as a mostly cool year, but with two micro heat events towards the end of the season that helped push ripeness. Both the Chardonnays and Pinots are marked by a real sense of translucent finesse that is hard to capture with words. The Pinots in particular are quite aromatic, with a touch of stem influence that is very nicely balanced.
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2018
2020 - 2030
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Gavin Chanin’s 2018s are some of his best wines ever. Each wine is on point and exquisite. Readers will note the addition of two new wines: a Syrah and a Reserve Pinot Noir from Durell. As always, the wines are incredibly transparent to site. The Pinots see a bit of whole cluster influence, which adds character without being overly dominant.
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2018
2021 - 2030
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2017
2019 - 2025
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This is a mixed set of wines from Gavin Chanin. I found the Chardonnays to be terrific. The Pinots, on the other hand, are light in body, depth and structure, even within the realm of more restrained Santa Barbara wines, to the point of knocking the wines off balance. The Los Alamos and Sta. Rita Hills bottlings fared best.
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2017
2019 - 2024
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Ryan Deovlet’s 2017s are gorgeous. The Pinots and Chardonnays are all strong. As always, the wines here are understated and finessed in style, with a high degree of site character that makes them compelling. New oak is in the 20-30% range. Some of the Pinots are done with whole clusters, but stem character is nicely integrated and never overpowering. Deovlet always shows his appellation Pinot and Chardonnay after the vineyard designates, and they never suffer in comparison.
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2016
2018 - 2026
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Ryan Deovlet's 2016s are terrific across the board. The wines perhaps lack a little bit of the density seen in some previous years, but they are all faithful to their origins. As always, the Deovlet wines are very much understated in style. New oak falls in the 15-25% range. The Pinots are done with some whole clusters, but are not excessively stemmy in character. This range is full of highlights, although I admit being especially drawn to the appellation level wines. There is something about the blending of fruit from two or more vineyards that just works.
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2015
2018 - 2025
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Gavin Chanin made stellar wines at both Chanin and Lutum in 2015. The Chardonnays capture the richness of the vintage while retaining terrific balance and poise. But it is the Pinots that rise into the realm of the sublime. Readers will not want to miss the 2015 Pinots, as they are clearly among the wines of the vintage.
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2015
2018 - 2025
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There are plenty of highlights in this range from Ryan Deovlet. The wines are done in a restrained, laid-back style that really allows for the personality of each site to come through. Also tasted: Red Wine Santa Barbara County
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2014
2017 - 2022
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Gavin Chanin draws from some of the best vineyards in Santa Barbara, including blocks in Bien Nacido and Sanford & Benedict planted in the early 1970s that played a key role in the early days of Santa Barbara. Chanin holds a number of unconventional views, including an aversion to green harvesting. He also does not seek particularly low yields and is remarkably open in stating that he does not control much about farming in the sites he buys fruit from, something pretty much none of his colleagues would state so candidly. The proof, though, is in the glass, and the 2014s are impressive across the board. As is the case at many wineries, the Chardonnays have a slight upper hand over the Pinots in 2014. According to Chanin, the growing season was only 5-6 days shorter than normal even though harvest was a full month earlier than normal, largely because of the warm winter and early start to the year as opposed to very hot temps in June or July.
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2013
2015 - 2021
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Gavin Chanin's 2013 Chardonnays are superb. The 2013 Pinots are less consistent, although they are better than the 2012s. Overall, I find the 2012 Pinots lacking in depth and intensity, as if only about 75% of the vineyard-specific signatures are being captured in these wines. Perhaps the yields were a bit on the high side, but there is little doubt the 2013 Pinots could be and should be more distinguished for a producer with Gavin Chanin's raw talent.
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2012
2014 - 2017
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This is a mixed set of wines from Gavin Chanin. Overall, the 2012s lack the depth, resonance and energy that are among his signatures. The Chardonnays fare a bit better than the Pinots, which are lacking in color, structure and complexity. It is hard to say whether the generous yields of the vintage or Chanin's preference to pick early (or something else) is the key driver here, but it is quite obvious that the wines are lacking. Chanin is one of California's most promising young winemakers, but coping with 2012 was clearly a challenge.
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2012
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Gavin Chanin is now set up in a new, very spacious facility in Lompoc, across the street from the original wine ghetto and next door to the new Zotovich facility. This space is also home to Chanin's new project with investor Bill Price, called Lutum. As more vineyards come on line there will obviously be increased production here but Chanin wants "to keep it incremental, to keep focus," adding that the Lutum project, which will involve North Coast as well as Central Coast fruit, is going to require plenty of attention on its own. Chanin's 2012s look highly promising, by the way: he pulled samples of chardonnay and pinot from barrels of various Bien Nacido and Sanford & Benedict blocks that showed superb clarity and exotic spiciness, with vivid fruitiness and no excess weight.
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