Alma Rosa Pinot Caracol Sta. Rita Hills 2021

Add 3+ bottles to your cart and save big! Limited time only. 

If you happened to miss our sister site Last Bottle’s Alma Rosa Day last week, you’re in luck! We’ve got a single-block, estate-grown 97 POINTER of 2021 Pinot Noir from the famed Central Coast winery, made in a tiny amount by a tremendously skilled team. Rightfully $125 at the winery, it’s all yours for this incredible secret price on orders of three or more!

Alma Rosa happens to be one of the hottest and most collectible names coming out of California’s Central Coast. Started in 2005 by the “Godfather” of Central Coast Pinot, Richard Sanford – who planted the first Pinot Noir vines in Santa Barbara County in 1971 – Alma Rosa is nestled in the Sta. Rita Hills on the historic 628-acre Rancho Santa Rosa land grant. New owners Bob and Barb Zorich purchased the winery in 2015, expanding the vineyard, investing in infrastructure, and continuing the focus on incredibly awe-worthy, cool-climate wines.

Supported by rockstar consulting winemaker Tony Biagi, Samra Morris has led the winemaking efforts at Alma Rosa since 2020. One of five 2025 Wine Enthusiast Wine Star Award nominees and protege of Thomas Rivers Brown, she’s rapidly become one of Santa Barbara County’s most dynamic vintners in her considerably short time there. Originally from Bosnia, Samra studied Food Sciences in college, thinking she would become a brewmaster. But after an internship at a brewery, she wound up hating the smell of beer and later fell in love with the culture and process of making wine. She also fell in love with her future husband, a United States Air Force member stationed in Sarajevo, and after marrying, they landed 30 minutes outside of Napa, where she was able to start pursuing a career in wine.

Sta. Rita Hills is known for its east-west running mountains that funnel the Pacific Ocean influence into the vineyards with morning fog and chilly nights, imparting a stunning acidity into the wines. This particular wine is planted in a Fibonacci spiral (Caracol means “snail”) on a sloped hill parcel to allow for the best sun exposure. It’s a relatively new block of the El Jabali estate, planted in 2015 on the seashell fossil-rich soils with a massal selection of various clones from across the estate... and quickly becoming one of the prized parcels on the vineyard.

After just one swirl and sip, you’ll see exactly why. Dried rose petals, hibiscus agua fresca, with black cherries, ripe strawberries, pomegranate molasses, black licorice, a gorgeous roasted herb and potpourri medley, and an iron-laden core make this powerful, seductive, and endlessly entrancing. The long-lasting peppery finish is sprinkled with a saline minerality, and one thing is certain: This is mind-meltingly delicious. We CAN’T believe we get to offer this INCREDIBLE PRICE on three or more bottles... but if you can, you should get much, much more.

PAIRING IDEAS: I had to indulge a Chipotle craving last weekend when we happened to pop open this wine – and let me tell you, a carnitas burrito bowl with the corn and green salsa alongside this rich and sultry Pinot Noir... CHEF’S KISS.