THE HILT

The Hilt was founded in 2008 in the Santa Rita Hills, Santa Barbara. The region of Santa Barbara reached only 28°C last year, the coolest wine growing area in the state of California. The unobstructed, ocean facing east-west valley known as Santa Rita Hills Valley is a complex AVA. One could divide it into four quadrants: northern-facing, southern-facing, close to the ocean, and further inland from the ocean. With such a frame, The Hilt’s favourite vineyards are in the northern-facing, closest to the ocean, windswept quadrant.

Rancho Salsipuedes, where The Hilt wines make their home, provides vineyards planted on land nearly 13 unobstructed miles from the ocean on the west. This unique, large and sprawling property offers a range of altitudes, aspects, soil types, and microclimates, giving winemaker Matt Dees a patchwork of vineyard parcels from which to select grapes and create wines with distinctive styles.

Diverse though it may be, Salsipuedes possesses some aspects that remain consistent: the land has poor soils that force vines to dig deep; there are powerful, whipping winds and a cold maritime climate that allow grapes on the property to ripen slowly and retain acidity despite the warm daytime sun; and the vines on the property are low in vigour, allowing them to produce low yields of concentrated, complex grapes. It is with these three important components – poor soils, whipping winds and a cool maritime climate along with low vigour vines – that Salsipuedes defines itself in the Sta. Rita Hills.

Both the Estate wines are “defined by the fruit and flavours of our little southwestern corner of the Sta. Rita Hills. They speak of the nuances and complexities of our property as a whole. These wines take into account the many aspects, clones, soil types, and other properties of our estate. They give us the maximum amount of blending components and, represent the most complete wines in our portfolio.”

The Estate Chardonnay is aged in 34% New French oak,56% neutral French oak, 10% stainless steel for 11 months. The Estate Pinot Noir is aged in 8% New French oak, 92% neutral French oak for 11 months.

The Bentrock Vineyard is situated over 500 feet above sea level, Bentrock is comprised of long, rolling hills. Though the altitude is high, the ridges are not steep. Vines flow gently down the hillsides, gathering ample sunlight yet ripening slowly because of altitude and moderate cooling breezes. Bentrock vineyard is nearly 92 acres, with close to 80 acres planted with pinot noir and just over 13 acres planted with Chardonnay.

The Bentrock Chardonnay is aged in 33% new French oak barrels, 67% once and twice used barrels for 12 months. The Bentrock Pinot Noir is aged in 80% neutral French oak barrels,20% stainless steel barrels for 12 months.

The Vineyards for The Hilt wines are all high in altitude, but Radian’s ridgelines are the steepest, reaching nearly 700 feet at its highest points. Outcrops of diatomaceous earth and rocky soils dominate Radian and ultimately help define the type of fruit the vines yield. The rocky soils at the top of Radian offer good drainage and heat retention, an aspect critical to the production of ripe fruit at high altitude with cold, whipping winds.

The Radian Chardonnay is aged in 85% neutral French oak barrels,15% stainless steel barrels for12 months. The Radian Pinot Noir is aged in 80% neutral French oak barrels, 20% stainless steel barrels for 12 months.

We love the precision and elegance of their wines.

www.thehiltestate.com