2022 Fess Parker - Pinot Noir Parker West Santa Rita Hills (750ml)

Fess Parker Winery was founded in 1989, when the actor best known for playing Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone purchased a ranch near Los Olivos and recognized Santa Barbara County's potential as a premier winegrowing region. The family owned operation has since grown to farm 110 acres of estate vineyards and remains a well known stop along the Foxen Canyon Wine Trail. Alongside its Fess Parker label, the family also produces wines under the Epiphany Cellars and Addendum brands, but its Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir program, sourced from a handful of distinctive estate sites, remains at the heart of the winery's reputation.

Parker West Vineyard is planted on sandy soils along a windswept hillside just a few miles from the cold Pacific, a site that gives Pinot Noir grown there a distinctly savory, mineral driven character compared to some of the family's other vineyards. The 2022 vintage reflects that terroir clearly, with the fruit showing the earthy, gamey complexity typical of the site's cooler, coastal exposure. As with the rest of the Fess Parker Pinot Noir lineup, the wine is aged in French oak with a portion new, a regimen chosen to add structure without masking the vineyard's distinct character.

The 2022 Parker West opens with hearty boysenberry aromas, layered with charred game, turned loam, and crushed black rock. The palate is fresh and savory, with ripe berry fruit accented by dried meat and bay leaf. It pairs nicely with roasted duck, wild mushroom flatbread, or a peppery steak au poivre.