Sante Winemaking Singled Out by Antonio Galloni's Vinous

Excerpted from "Santa Cruz Mountains - The Chameleon" by Billy Norris:

"The strongest asset here is a core of capable, scrappy, adaptable, quality-minded producers who utilize the region’s diversity to succeed in spite of adversity. They change colors as necessary to blend in with their environment—like chameleons—churning out wines of precision, transparency and value year after year without much outside recognition or glory. John Benedetti of Sante Arcangeli refers to it as the “phalanx of quality”—a tight-knit group of winemakers tirelessly dedicated to pursuing excellence by holding one another accountable for the quality of their collective work. Their goal is simple: to elevate the region on the world stage. All you have to do is look—they’re always there, and their voices are getting louder. 

Proprietor and winemaker John Benedetti is soft-spoken and introspective, but he makes no bones about his views on the state of play in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Benedetti is a strong, consistent advocate for the common goal of elevating the overall quality of winemaking in the region, and it shows in the bottle. A thoughtful, careful winemaker, his Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays are pure and honest. The 2022s are softer and more immediate, while the 2023s, tasted just after bottling, are lively, energetic and exciting. Benedetti is flexible and adaptive in his practices in the winery, making what he calls “game-day decisions.” He adjusts harvest times, punch-down routines, élevage and whole cluster inclusion on a site-by-site, vintage-by-vintage basis. Benedetti explains, “My only rule with Pinot is not to be dogmatic about anything.” This kind of self-awareness and bigger-picture mindfulness is extremely important in solidifying a regional identity. Sante Arcangeli is a shining example of clear intentions."

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Vinous is notoriously tight when it comes to scores, with their scores typically coming in 2-3 points lower than other major pubications like Wine Advocate and Wine Enthusiast. Still... we did alright!

2023 Coast Grade Vineyard Pinot Noir (to be released in Winter 2025):
94 points. The 2023 Pinot Noir Coast Grade Vineyard really has it going on. Hailing from a site at 1,100 feet in the Ben Lomond Mountain AVA, there’s more breadth and layered red fruit here than in the other 2023 Pinot cuvées. Pine, raspberry and chalk (this site is situated next to a limestone quarry) gain attractive lift by way of 5% stems, which really works. Elegance, elegance, elegance—I’m impressed.

2022 Ananda Pinot Noir (in the current club shipment):
94 points. The 2022 Pinot Noir Ananda is a blend of fruit from Hand in Hand, Split Rail and Coast Grade, aged for 18 months sur lie in 20% new French oak. It’s a beautiful, sensual wine that’s long on layered spice tones in a way that makes it feel like a bit of an outlier in the lineup—naturally a function of the longer élevage. That said, it also happens to be my favorite wine in the lineup. Pure blue/purplish fruit, ultra-fine tannins and calibrated acidity make this sing, and sing it does. The texture imparted by the lees-aging here really helps to give the bright acidity something to grab onto. This is already harmonious and well-proportioned today but will certainly age with style.

2023 Saveria Vineyard Pinot Noir (to be released in Winter 2025):
93 points. The 2023 Pinot Noir Saveria Vineyard is the most open-knit and expressive Pinot in the lineup of 2023s. There’s beautiful transparency and purity of fruit here, with a long, cool-toned, blood-orange-driven finish and extraordinarily fine tannins. Forest floor, eucalyptus and wet leaves form the base upon which sexy red and blue fruit flourish, spreading out easily across the palate. This is in a beautiful place to begin its long, measured evolution.

2023 Integrato Pinot Noir (to be released in Winter 2025):
92 points. The 2023 Pinot Noir Integrato is a blend of fruit from Split Rail, Saveria, Coast Grade and Lester. It’s a beautifully elegant, floral, light-bodied expression of Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir. Strawberry, rhubarb, mint and marine-leaning notes of seaweed or oyster shell lend intrigue here. The finish brings some pleasant oak roundness and a suggestion of wood tannin. Finesse is the order of the day. This is light on its feet and goes down easily.