Brewer-Clifton 2012 Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills Machado Vineyard

Steve Clifton and Greg Brewer came to winemaking along very different paths. Clifton’s interest in fine wines evolved out of his former position as a buyer in the restaurant business, while Brewer, a former professor of French at the University of California, Santa Barbara, learned about oenology through exploration of the local vineyards and wineries.  Both, however, share a love of Burgundy, and their label—now perhaps Santa Barbara County’s most critically acclaimed—follows the Burgundian model, producing single-varietal wines from single vineyards. The Brewer-Clifton 2012 Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills Machado Vineyard ($74, brewerclifton.com) is unabashedly rich, yet through the dense layers of raspberry fruit, one discovers more delicate floral notes—rose and lavender—as well as hints of clove, turmeric, and clay.