2016 Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills

There are 300 cases of the just-bottled 2016 Pinot Noir Estate, and it's clear that Domaine de la Côte's entry-level bottling is going from strength to strength as the vines mature and produce more consistent results. The wine bursts from the glass with an expressive bouquet of spice, Griotte cherry, rich soil, undergrowth and rose hip, followed by a medium-bodied, supple, satiny palate, with a beautifully textural attack and an intense, saline finish. And if you surmised that the quality of this bottling bodes well for the wines that follow in the lineup, you'd be right.