Mail Road Mt. Carmel Vineyard Pinot Noir 2018

97 Points - limited                                                       Limited release of Santa Barbara's new Cult Pinot Noir. Winemaker Matt Dees (Jonata, The Hilt) is crafting some of the area's best wines. 97 Points Antonio Gallonmi (Vinous): "A dazzling wine, the 2018 Pinot Noir Mt. Carmel Vineyard possesses magnificent richness to match its statuesque personality. The flavors are rich, bold and ample, and yet the 2018 retains so much nuance and vibrancy. Inky red/purplish fruit, lavender, graphite and spice build into the huge, resonant finish. What a wine. The 2018 was done with 6% whole clusters and was aged in a combination of one and two-year-old barrels...Ronald Piazza and Michal Palmer own Mail Road and the Mt. Carmel Vineyard, one of the top sites in California for both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Winemaker Matt Dees sure knows how to get the most out of this fruit. The wines I tasted are off the charts. 96 Points Jeb Dunnuck: "The 2019 Pinot Noir Mount Carmel Vineyard is more floral and exotic, with a thrilling core of black raspberry and wild strawberry fruits supported by candied orange, violet, flowery incense, and assorted spices. These all carry to a vibrant, medium-bodied Pinot Noir with a classic, focused spine of acidity, a more rounded mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and a great finish. It's another gorgeous wine. Drink bottles any time over the coming 10-12 years or so." Mount Carmel Vineyard is the exclusive purveyor to Mail Road Wines.  Mount Carmel Vineyard is located on a steep, south-facing cliff, north of the Santa Ynez River. Established in 1990 by Ron and Nancy Piazza, the vineyard is planted to a variety of own-rooted, organically and principally dry farmed, heritage Pinot Noir and Chardonnay clones. The vineyard is at 800 to 1000 feet elevation, with botella clay, limestone, diatomaceous earth, calcerous deposits and sandy loam soils.

Save