2016 & 2018 Domaine de la Côte "La Côte" Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir

“While several of the Domaine de la Côte wines were surprisingly expressive given their bottling a few days earlier, the 2016 Pinot Noir La Côte was the most reticent—and also potentially the greatest and most ethereal. It unfurls with coaxing to reveal a highest toned bouquet of raspberry, Griotte cherry, citrus zest and rose petal, followed by a silky, medium-bodied and multidimensional palate, with an extraordinary mineral, saline presence that is compellingly singular. The finish is long and tangy. While Parr and Moorman eschew such comparisons, it would be fascinating to pour this wine blind in a flight of great Burgundies. (WK) 96+” (04/2018)

“The 2016 Pinot Noir La Côte is lifted and very precise, with a more distinctly savory and red-toned profile than the other Pinots in the range. Bright acids run through a core of cranberry, blood orange, white pepper, chalk and mint. Readers will find a chiseled, beautifully sculpted Pinot that is all energy and precision. The 2016 needs a bit of time to soften, but it is super-impressive. (AG)” (09/2018)

“The 2016 Pinot Noir “la Côte” bottling from Domaine de la Côte is flat out gorgeous on both the nose and palate. The bouquet is pure, nascently complex and beautifully precise, wafting from the glass in a mix of cherries, red plums, a touch of beetroot, cocoa powder, a lovely base of soil, sweet stems, a dollop of cedary new oak and a delicate topnote of fresh herb tones. On the palate the wine is elegant, refined and full-bodied, with lovely nascent complexity, a good, sappy core, excellent transparency, fine-grained tannins and a long, vibrant and youthful finish. This is impeccably balanced and very easy to drink in its primary state, but there is so much more complexity to come here with bottle age that it is crazy not to leave it alone in the cellar for at least a half dozen years and let the magic fully emerge.” (02/2019)

“Very herbal, spicy and savoury on the nose. Plenty of green spice on the palate, very unusual in its herbal dominance. There is fresh and vibrant red fruit but this is secondary to the savoury, spicy elements. Quintessentially whole-bunch in style. (TP)” (09/2019)

“The 2018 Pinot Noir La Côte is a dark, somber wine. Huge swaths of tannin wrap around a core of blue and purplish fruit. Readers will have to be patient, as the 2018 is not at all forthcoming. This is an especially brooding, potent style. Time in the glass brings out hints of lavender, sage and dried herbs, but the 2018 is in no mood of showing all its cards right now. (AG) 96+” (08/2020)

“The 2018 'La Côte' bottling from Domaine de la Côte is another fine bottle of pinot noir in the making. Like the 2018 Bloom’s Field, this is a touch riper than in some vintages, coming in at 13.5 percent octane, but offering up the estate’s signature purity and transparency down to the soil. The nose jumps from the glass in a youthful blend of black cherries, fresh herb tones, espresso, a fine base of soil, woodsmoke, gamebird, incipient notes of beetroot and a deft framing of cedary oak. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, focused and sappy at the core, with fine soil signature, ripe, buried tannins and a long, vibrant and beautifully balanced finish. This will be very velvety when it is ready to drink and a lovely bottle.” (12/2020)

“Medium ruby, the 2018 Pinot Noir La Côte offers aromas of tar, licorice, iron, blood orange peel and earth with a core of red and black berry fruits. The medium-bodied palate is super spicy, silky and light on its feet, finishing very long and layered. (EB)” (10/2020)

“From a southeast-facing site in the western reaches of the Sta. Rita Hills, this has a strong marine character, with scents of smoke and dried seaweed overlaying dark red fruits. A whole-cluster smokiness currently shrouds the wine, but cellar time will tame that.” (10/2020)