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94+ points Vinous Media
Drinking window: 2027 - 2035
The 2023 Pinot Noir Bentrock Vineyard is powerful and intense, yet closed and inward today. Broad and mouth-coating, it's packed with savory notes of cedar, tobacco leaf, gravel, crushed rocks and chalk that frame the reticent dark cherry and cocoa-tinged fruit. The 2023 was done with fully destemmed fruit, which was the right choice, because it's a ball of minerality as is. The 30% new French oak integrates seamlessly into the wine's fabric. I'm optimistic for the future, but the 2023 needs to blow off some steam.

Matt Dees and the team at The Hilt really outdid themselves in 2023, as these are some of the most impressive wines I’ve ever tasted from this estate. The Hilt comprises two of the finest—and most marginal—sites in the Sta. Rita Hills, Bentrock and Radian, both of which turn out incredibly complex, mineral-driven Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah of the highest level.

The 2023 vintage at The Hilt was not for the faint of heart. “It was a difficult year for powdery at The Hilt and throughout much of the county. It was just such a mild summer, and the temperatures and conditions were perfect for our little fungal friend to linger and threaten the crop late into the vintage. It was likely the worst we had seen since 2008. Just a really long battle that had to be fought. We eventually harvested exceptionally clean fruit, but it wasn't easy,” said Dees. All that effort was certainly worth it, as the wines are tremendous.

In 2023, the Bentrock Chardonnay came from north-facing blocks that are shielded from the fierce winds that can batter these sites, while the Radian Chardonnay emerged from exposed, west-facing hillside parcels. Both wines saw slightly less time in barrel (11 months) followed by somewhat less time in tank (6 months) than is the norm here. The results are spectacular, particularly the Bentrock, a magnificent, dynamic wine that is only to be outdone by the 2023 Chardonnay Vanguard. The Vanguard is primarily Bentrock with the inclusion of a small portion from Solomon Hills, a vineyard that has sadly been ripped out due to disease. The Vanguard is one of the finest Chardonnays I’ve ever tasted from California. Full stop. The reds at The Hilt are no slouches either. Radian delivered very tiny clusters in 2023, which yielded a wine of sheer vertical intensity. Any way you spin it, The Hilt is a source for some of the very best wines in California.