"Black cherries, assorted darker berries, leafy herbs, sage, rose, and hints of iodine all emerge from the 2022 Pinot Noir Estate, a medium-bodied, complex, pretty, almost racy Pinot Noir that has solid depth of fruit, as well as a great finish. It blossoms with air, so don't be afraid to give this a decant if drinking any time soon. It should have an easy 10-12 years of prime drinking." -Jeb Dunnuck

"The 2022 Pinot Noir Estate is glorious. A rush of inky dark fruit, spice, lavender, licorice and mocha are all front and center. Plush and explosive, with tremendous textural density, the 2022 has so much to offer. This is an especially large-scale, voluptuous wine from The Hilt." -Vinous

The Hilt Estate

To understand the wines made by The Hilt Estate, one might need to come to visit the hard and harsh conditions under which they are born. The unobstructed, ocean-facing east-west valley known as Sta. Rita Hills Valley is a complex AVA. One could divide it into four quadrants: northern-facing, southern-facing, close to the ocean, and further inland from the ocean. With such a frame, The Hilt’s favorite vineyards are in the northern-facing, closest to the ocean, windswept quadrant. These sites are the worst place for a grape grower, but the best ones for a winemaker.

The Hilt Estate vineyards are planted near 13 unobstructed miles from the ocean on the west. This unique, large and sprawling property offers a range of altitudes, aspects, soil types, and microclimates, giving winemaker Matt Dees a patchwork of vineyard parcels from which to select grapes and create wines with distinctive styles.

Diverse though it may be, The Hilt Estate possesses some aspects that remain consistent: the land has poor soils that force vines to dig deep; there are powerful, whipping winds and a cold maritime climate that allow grapes on the property to ripen slowly and retain acidity despite the warm daytime sun; and the vines on the property are low in vigor, allowing them to produce low yields of concentrated, complex grapes. It is with these three important components – poor soils, whipping winds, and a cool maritime climate along with low-vigor vines – that The Hilt Estate defines itself in the Sta. Rita Hills.

Matt Dees (pictured above), who is considered among the wine cognoscenti to be one of the top winemakers in the United States, has gathered this abundant bounty of chanterelles from out behind The Hilt Estate in Sta. Rita Hills, where he is the winemaker.