2020 Domaine Jean Francois The Twelve Rows Sanford & Benedict Vineyard Pinot Noir Sta Rita Hills

(98 Points) The 2020 Sanford & Benedict Pinot Noir The Twelve Rows is a fantastic wine with tremendous flavor-to-weight ratio. Medium ruby, the nose blossoms continually from dried red cherries, strawberries and raspberries to wafts of graphite, woodsmoke, bergamot, tea leaves and violet. The medium-bodied palate's flavors echo all those lovely aromatics, offering wave after wave of perfumed red fruit. It has abundant, finely grained tannins and is bursting with refreshing acidity that continues to call you back to the glass on the hauntingly long finish. This is the first iteration of Twelve Rows Pinot Noir that was made with destemmed fruit; generally, it is vinified with 40-60% whole clusters. It has resulted in a pure, layered expression. (EB)