Racines is a collaboration of four great voices of wine. Justin Willett (of Lieu Dit and Tyler) has been joined in his home appellation, the Sta. Rita Hills, by Etienne de Montille and Brian Sieve of Domaine de Montille. Together, they are marrying the time-honored techniques of Burgundy with the pioneering energy of California-and, in the process, they are rediscovering the nuances of the appellation's most iconic vineyards.
By 2016 Justin Willett, a son of Santa Barbara and career winemaker, had over a decade of experience coaxing forth the character of the region's best vineyards. Etienne and Justin turned to compelling vineyard blocks that Justin had long coveted, and together they have presented refreshing new entries in the most important discussions of the appellation.
The wines here possess more structure and resonance than encountered in Tyler's ethereal approach. New cooperage and custom vats, tailored to Etienne's technique, have been imported. The Pinots are composed using further stem inclusion, more extraction, and longer vatting. The Chardonnays are raised with more finessing of the fine lees and longer elevage. The results are immediately apparent in the glass: these are tensile and crystalline expressions of the Sta. Rita Hills- at once familiar and rendered anew.
ANTONIO GALLONI 90 POINTS - "The 2019 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills is an attractive, ethereal wine. Sweet dried cherry, mint, tobacco and sage are some of the aromas and flavors that open in the glass. I would give this a few years in bottle to soften. This is an especially savory style of Pinot with plenty of aromatic presence, and the fruit pushed into the background. The Sta. Rita Hills cuvee is a blend of fruit from Domaine de la Cote and La Encantada."
By 2016 Justin Willett, a son of Santa Barbara and career winemaker, had over a decade of experience coaxing forth the character of the region's best vineyards. Etienne and Justin turned to compelling vineyard blocks that Justin had long coveted, and together they have presented refreshing new entries in the most important discussions of the appellation.
The wines here possess more structure and resonance than encountered in Tyler's ethereal approach. New cooperage and custom vats, tailored to Etienne's technique, have been imported. The Pinots are composed using further stem inclusion, more extraction, and longer vatting. The Chardonnays are raised with more finessing of the fine lees and longer elevage. The results are immediately apparent in the glass: these are tensile and crystalline expressions of the Sta. Rita Hills- at once familiar and rendered anew.
ANTONIO GALLONI 90 POINTS - "The 2019 Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills is an attractive, ethereal wine. Sweet dried cherry, mint, tobacco and sage are some of the aromas and flavors that open in the glass. I would give this a few years in bottle to soften. This is an especially savory style of Pinot with plenty of aromatic presence, and the fruit pushed into the background. The Sta. Rita Hills cuvee is a blend of fruit from Domaine de la Cote and La Encantada."
