Donnachadh 2021 Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir

The Wine

Donnachadh (Don-nuh-kuh) is a family-owned vineyard and winery that has been making wine in the Sta. Rita Hills since 2013. This wine comes from the steep, north-facing hillside blocks of the vineyard (see photo), which is just nine miles from the ocean. With the Pacific influence, rocky soils, and sun exposure, this is a mineral-driven beauty of a Pinot Noir.

You'll find here some notes of red fruits (cranberry), orange zest, rose petals, black tea leaves and earth. Medium-bodied on the palate with just enough acidity to make the wine fairly vibrate with energy. The tannins were a bit pronounced at my tasting in 2023, but I expect they're well on their way to a soft integration by now, complimenting the wine's long and perfumy finish (think Asian spice box!). 

• Practicing Organic (certified in 2023)
• 100% Pinot Noir
• Sta. Rita Hills AVA
• 10% Whole cluster
• Aged on lees for 10 months before bottling (6% new oak)
• 13.4% ABV

"95 Pts" Wine Advocate

The Winery

Drew and Laurie Duncan searched almost a decade for the perfect cool climate site to grow Chardonnay and Pinot Noir before finally discovering Donnachadh Vineyard (pronounced DON-nuh-kuh).  Organically farmed in the heart of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA, the property was planted to vine by the Duncan’s in 2013.  Santa Barbara Winemaker Ernst Storm is at the healm for winemaking at Donnachadh.  Having hailed from the Western Cape of South Africa, his experience making balanced wines from cool climate grapes has served him well in the Sta. Rita Hills.  Ernst believes that the diverse soils and microclimates within Santa Barbara County make it a region with endless potential.

Donnachadh Vineyard has special characteristics that inspired the Duncan’s to lay roots there: its north facing slope shields the grapes from too much direct sunlight, and is quite steep while lying at a higher elevation. The property is perfectly situated in a corridor that carries the ocean breeze inland, cooling the grapes in the morning and evening and preventing heat from building up during the day.  Overall, the hillside environment is quite challenging for the vines, which limits yields and produces grapes of exceptional character.  Laurie has a PhD is Geology, so soil composition was important when choosing this site—their vineyard is unique in that it offers several different soil types (predominantly clay, with marine shale deposits) which contribute to Donnachadh’s elegant wines of purity, energy and warmth.

VINEYARDS & VITICULTURE
The vineyard consists of two main parts: the hillside blocks, and the riverside blocks.  The riverside blocks sit alongside the Santa Ynez River.  They are more sheltered from the wind than the hillside blocks and the soil is a delicate and well drained sandy loam that sits on top of deep layers of gravel river deposits.  The hillside blocks are more exposed to the ocean winds.  The soil there is derived from marine shale deposits and features more clay, rocks and cobbles than the riverside blocks.  Overall, the hillside environment is quite challenging for the vines, limiting yields and producing grapes of exceptional character.