2017 Brewer Clifton Pinot Noir ‘Machado Vineyard’ Santa Rita Hills

JD96 Made from equal parts 459 and 37 clones, the 2017 Pinot Noir Machado has a complex bouquet of blackberries, caramelized orange peel, spice, and earth. It’s a beautiful, elegant wine, with medium to full-bodied richness, fine tannins, and a great finish. This is another complex, silky, incredibly compelling wine from this team.
WE95 Buoyant aromas of Bing cherry and raspberry sorbet are layered with lavender and rose buds on the elegant, approachable nose of this single-vineyard bottling. The palate is crisp in an underripe cherry flavor, with a taut texture and accents of mace and star anise on the finish.
WA94 Made with 100% whole cluster, the 2017 Pinot Noir Machado has a pale to medium ruby color and gives up warm cranberry, black cherry, red and black currants and licorice with hints of peppercorn, woodsmoke, pipe tobacco, dried rose petals and garrigue. The silky, light to medium-bodied palate fleshes out in the mouth with spicy fruits supported by firm, grainy tannins and seamless freshness, finishing long and layered. Give this more time in bottle.
VIN94 A wine of density and power, the 2017 Pinot Noir Machado is another standout in what is a very impressive range from Brewer-Clifton this year. Dark cherry and plum fruit are rich and expansive on the palate. The 2017 needs a few years in bottle to develop more complexity, but it is really quite compelling, even in the early going.