Surprised that there aren’t any notes on this here, but maybe I’m just lousy with the search function? If you’re looking for burgundy or oregon pinot, this is not for you, but if you’re looking for exactly what you think Sabelli-Frisch could do with a Santa Barbara county pinot… yes, this is exactly it. I love it.
2023 Sabelli-Frisch Pinot Noir Milk Fed 11 YF2 - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County (4/8/2025)
Deep cherry purple color. The nose has sweet strawberry, concord grape, a touch of sage veering towards marijuana, a full floral roundness behind it all. Kind of joyously decadent in a glou glou way. I gave it a few hours, and it seems ready to go. I'm not sure I would guess pinot, but I can see it. It's more reminiscent of a southern France natty wine to me than even California, I think the herbal tinge being the key. A fun but layered wine that begs for a summer picnic. I'm a fan. (92 points)
For reference, here was Adam’s description on berserker day:
“This is probably the most AFWE or “natural wine” I’ve made - it’s a super vibrant and electric 100% whole cluster Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara county and the promising YF2 vineyard. High toned, elevated aromatics and electric. Very low sulphur, so this is probably not one for aging,”
Thanks for the note. I bought this one as well, and was similarly quite happy with it. I noticed the same flavor components (I think what you are calling “herbal“ I felt was kind of a spice element). I thought it had some red fruit Pinot Noir character, but agree that it is just a fun wine to drink.
To me it seemed a little funky on opening. That might have been the herbal note. Day 2 it really changed into how it was described, especially the electric description. Liked it much better on day 2, and it did make me wish there was more.
Had a sneak preview of this from @Adam_Frisch and it was WOTN at a casual tasting with friends. Had this again a couple of weeks ago with a different group and it was the pick red of the night–we opened two bottles and I took the leftovers home. Agree that it benefits from air, and liked it even better the next day. By day three the vibrancy had faded a tad but it was still enjoyable and in spite of low sulphur it remained clean-tasting and fresh.
