Pinot Noir

Grown in the California Alpine vineyards of the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA at 1,200 to 1,490 feet, these vines sit above the fog line, where sunny days and cool nights drive slow ripening, high acidity, and big aromatics.

California heritage selections, including Calera and Swan, deliver a vibrant, lifted, and nervy throwback Pinot Noir. It is grown organically and biodynamically, fermented natively with no additives or adjustments, aged in older French oak, and bottled unfiltered.

Site: Santa Cruz Mountains AVA, 1,200 to 1,490 feet

Farming: Organic and biodynamic

Vines: California heritage selections, including Calera and Swan

Cellar: Native fermentation with no additives or adjustments; bottled unfiltered

Aging: 18 months in neutral French oak

Style: Vibrant and textural

Technical: 13.5% ABV, 6.0 TA, 3.7 pH

Acclaim: 92 points, Vinous - Vinous Favorite. 93 points, View from the Cellar

"Alta Heights is a relatively new label from Sean Castorani and Joanna Wells of Model Farm, with Alta Heights featuring wines made solely from mountain-grown fruit. Their 2024 Pinot Noir from Alta Heights tips the scales at 13.5 percent octane and is an excellent wine. It offers up a lovely bouquet of red and black cherries, gamebird, coffee bean, a lovely base of soil, woodsmoke, gentle whole clusters and a deft framing of new oak. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied and focused, with a lovely core of fruit, fine soil undertow, fine-grained tannins, tangy acids and excellent balance on the long, complex and vibrant finish. This is a lovely bottle of pinot noir and a fine value! 2034-2075. 93" John Gilman, View from the Cellar