Naked Wines F. Stephen Millier Legend Series Santa Barbara Pinot Noir Review

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F. Stephen Millier Legend Series Santa Barbara Pinot Noir: What I think

I love when I smell a wine and I’m instantly transported to the place the wine was made. There was no doubt I was smelling a Santa Barbara Pinot Noir. In my mouth though, I found the wine underwhelming. There’s a story here worth discussing though, and a reason to try the wine anyway.

My husband and I do a lot of wine tasting in the Santa Barbara area. We belong to several winery clubs and are well-acquainted with the local terroir, winemakers, their styles, and what is possible at every price point over $35.

Every once in a while I see some bottle of Pinot Noir from the area at some sub $20 price tag and I have to try it because what if one day we find one we love that doesn’t cost $45 or more? That hasn’t happened yet. And here’s why.

When you start with medium quality fruit, you can’t create a magical wine. Period. It’s easy enough to ruin perfect fruit with overly wrought winemaking, but it’s impossible to make mediocre fruit into a magical wine. That’s what’s going on here.

Not every block in every vineyard is tended to by a winemaker acting like a helicopter parent (because that makes a wine more expensive, among other reasons). Not every wine gets produced sur lies or matures in expensive new French oak barrels from premium cooperages (because that makes a wine more expensive, among other things). And when you strip those details away, the complexity and the magic fade, too.

But honestly, my love of Sta. Rita Hills and Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir borders on obsession, and frankly this Naked Wines Pinot Noir was extra good for $15.99 (a price tag that’s nearly unheard of for Pinot Noir from anywhere). Definitely better than the Trader Joe’s bottle I tried for the same price last year.

Last updated: March 28, 2023