Bright and fresh on the palate, red berries, and earthy background. Drink now through 2030+.
Metrick is the CA project of former sherry bottler Alex Russan. Metrick wines are elegant, and fresh, and seeking to craft wines that represent their origins. The wines are natural or low intervention. Rancho la Viña may be Santa Barbara County’s most beautiful vineyard, and one with rare characteristics, leading to unique, earthy wines.
Soils/Climate
Clay and sandy loam soils with good, shaley diatomaceous earth content. The climate is cool, rarely getting much above 90F. Winds constantly blow in from the nearby Pacific. The vineyard is in the southeast corner of the Sta Rita Hills.
Viticulture
No exterior leaves were pulled to minimize direct sunlight on the grapes (to encourage acid retention and earthier aromatics). No pesticides were used in Metrick rows during growing season.
Winemaking
Spontaneous fermentations, destemmed/whole berry, in open top fermenters, 1-2 pump-overs per day, aged in neutral oak, bottled unfined and unfiltered.
There are two goals with Metrick. First, to make fresh and elegant wines that represent their vineyard origins. Second, to test techniques and theories on how to best craft wines so that they most accurately represent their vineyards. It’s a very personal exploration for me. In addition to winemaking, I write for various wine publications about wine science and the nature of terroir. Previously I owned Alexander Jules, a Spanish wine import company focused on rare grapes and selected sherries. Being interested in rare grapes, I crossbreed new varieties, though they’re still a few years away from their first fruit.
Vineyards are selected with the hope they will lead to the type of wine I want to make: high-toned, “mineral” whites and earthier, herbal reds; both with good acid. The vineyards usually have marked coastal influence. Cellar practices aim to encourage the grapes to best express their terroir, and to encourage stability and longevity. Specific approaches to this always change, and there is no formula. First and foremost this means crafting clean wines, free of defects which could otherwise eclipse vineyard and grape character. As of 2019 the only additive used is (a low dose of) SO2. Acid is only added on the rare occasion that a wine’s acidity is too low to be microbially stable. Starting in 2019 all fermentations are spontaneous (prior to that I was in shared facilities, and felt it safest to inoculate with neutral cultured yeasts to avoid problems). The wines are aged either in neutral oak, concrete, or stainless.
I hope you enjoy the wines as much as I enjoyed making them.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
2019 Metrick Rancho la Viña Pinot Noir
3 bottles for $55.99 $18.66/bottle + $2.67/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $169.99 $14.17/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
@HALFEEL@rjquillin True. But reading the person’s other posted reviews, I see the love for WS Cab Franc, TyTanium, and a couple other wines we’ve seen here, and those comments seem to be on the mark. A rat or two would be helpful.
@HALFEEL I just perused the Cellartracker entries to see if myabe I had a bum bottle or something. I didn’t get the minerals that they did, but I definitely agree with 'em that it wasn’t good. My rat report is around here somewhere.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2019 Metrick Rancho la Viña Pinot Noir - $54 = 24.10%
Rat here for the Metrick Pinot Noir. I opened this up for dinner with chicken fajitas. I’m sorry to report that this one wasn’t great.
The color is on the darker end of raspberry - a bit lighter than I expected for a Pinot. Maybe that was a hint? I got a massive whiff of wild strawberry on the nose and not a lot of heavy alcohol burn. It held a lot of promise, but…
When tasted alone, this wine is…tart. Very tart. The only thing I really got in my first few sips was not-quite ripe strawberry (like, the berry is red, but just barely) with a tad of not quite ripe raspberries. The tannins were almost nonexistant as was the alcohol.
When I tasted it with the fajitas, some of the tartness thankfully backed off, and more of a ripe strawberry came out. That said, it didn’t really stand up well to the fajitas. It just couldn’t cut through the spice, and the fajitas weren’t horribly spicy.
I wanted to like this, but the best word I could come up with for this wine is “disappointing”. The nose gave me such high hopes.
I’d suggest trying out as a berry sangria, but that would be one expensive sangria.
Oh happy day when the brown truck delivers a rat bottle. Inside was the 2019 Metrick, Sta. Rita Hills ava Pinot Noir. We love Pinto Noirs, so we placed in the wine fridge and planned an appropriate dinner. First thing we noticed was that there was no seal of any type over the cork. We know this is a recent trend for ecological reasons. A couple of days later at pop-and-pour, the cork appeared to be in excellent condition, and there were no apparent indications of corkage or any other storage problems. The Metrick has a deep ruby color with good clarity. There was not much nose presentation, with some notes of red berries. First taste was astringent and frankly unpleasant. We paired this wine with rotisserie chicken and a mushroom and garlic pasta. . After breathing about 15 minutes, hubby noted red berries with hints of rasberry, but still overly acidic and bitter notes. Wife could not get past the bitter to detect any discernable flavor notes. Allowing the wine to breathe longer, hubby detected a shift to strawberry with hints of vanilla and found it drinkable. Wife continued to be overwhelmed by bitter and acid did not enjoy this wine at all. We hoped 24 hours under cork would allow this pinot a chance to open-up and improve. Unfortunately, when we tasted the next evening, the flavor was even worse. We appreciate all the love and labor that goes into producing a wine, and we hate giving a poor review. But, one of the things we have valued over the years about the Case Mates community is the honest and straightforward feedback members are willing to share. We found this wine to be frankly unpleasant and ended up pouring the last of the bottle down the drain (something we hardly ever do). Instead of finishing the Metrick, we opened another bottle of pinot noir we had acquired from Case Mates (at a comprable/lower price) earlier and enjoyed it thoroughly. As always, we appreciate the chance to serve as Lab Rats.
In case you wondered too - (from Wikipedia) Sta. Rita Hills is an American Viticultural Area located in Santa Barbara County, California. From its creation in 2001 through 2006, the wine appellation was officially named Santa Rita Hills AVA. The formal name change was the result of a protest by and subsequent negotiations with Vina Santa Rita, a very large Chilean wine producer that was concerned about the AVA name diluting its international brand value. The name change took effect on January 5, 2006, with a yearlong period for producers in the AVA to change their wine labels.
Well it’s Friday, my Illini won and I picked all three of 11 over 6…I have New Mexico as well but not because of seeding but because they are playing Clemson…ha!
Ok there has to be one useless note out there right? Right!
From WineBerserkers, discussing Metrick wines:
FWIW, I bought a case of the 2019 Pinot Noir Rancho la Viña Vineyard off a discount site when I saw it pop up and I’ve been quite pleased with my purchase. Corey_N 6/23
This site is continues to be a cornucopia of terms used by the oenophiles in the know.
Can’t wait to find a way to weave this into conversation this evening! :-)
Ok, enought about the wine, this is to clarify my stance on the voting… I like my beer by the imperial measurement (ounce), my whiskey by the shot, and my wine by the 750 ml bottle…
One thing, I’d like to mention, after living in Europe for almost 6 years, and noticed the last several years when visiting, is all the glasses that they serve their drinks in, are marked, with the size of the glass’s capacity, and a line. Example .25 L, .45 L, .7 L, beats the hell out of the American S, M, L. designation where who knows what the restaurant wants to serve you, in what size cups.
@winecaseaholic even worse when you go to a restaurant and wine is by the glass then they pour you about 2.5 oz instead of the standard 5. But charge you like it’s a 6 oz pour.
Europe is so much more civilised about all of this stuff.
@marjoryk Ok, these were delivered about three weeks ago, popped one last night. Not 100 points but it was very good. Definitely an acid driven, food friendly wine. Deep core of dark red berry fruit that only became more prominent as the night went on. Medium tannins, nice finish. I’ll probably try another one in a year or so, my thoughts are time will knit this together a bit more. Tossed it at a veal stew in a light fresh tomato sauce with a ton of fresh garlic and herb over fresh pasta and they played together nicely. Lovely bride enjoyed as well. Apparently two yak palates in this house. Now y’all know if I rat another offer and enjoy it you need to run away fast…ha!
2019 Metrick Pinot Noir, Rancho la Viña Vineyard, Sta. Rita Hills
Tasting Notes
Soils/Climate
Viticulture
Winemaking
Specs
What’s Included
3-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
Not for sale on winery website, $624/case MSRP
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Apr 15 - Tuesday, Apr 16
2019 Metrick Rancho la Viña Pinot Noir
3 bottles for $55.99 $18.66/bottle + $2.67/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $169.99 $14.17/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
previous offer and TNs from Mon, Jan 16th 2023 with a $30/case price reduction
@rjquillin The commentary from February on that thread isn’t very good. I’d say this is a pass.
This Pinot Noir looks like crap. Just see the ratings on Cellartracker.com:
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4544094&searchId=A9D1C5F3%23selected%253DW4544094_1_Kff77e7600526fa52749ff5708fe46f3f
Another pass for me.
@HALFEEL
Note however all three of those scored comments are from just one person…
@HALFEEL @rjquillin True. But reading the person’s other posted reviews, I see the love for WS Cab Franc, TyTanium, and a couple other wines we’ve seen here, and those comments seem to be on the mark. A rat or two would be helpful.
@HALFEEL I just perused the Cellartracker entries to see if myabe I had a bum bottle or something. I didn’t get the minerals that they did, but I definitely agree with 'em that it wasn’t good. My rat report is around here somewhere.
@HALFEEL @rjquillin The rats have spoken, and the news ain’t good. Consistent with the CT reviewer.
Disappointing, I was considering a 3-pack.
@InFrom
Nice further follow-up sleuthing
@HALFEEL @InFrom @rjquillin The only CT reviewer is a rat from the previous offer…well a post offer rat.
@HALFEEL @kaolis @rjquillin Right, it was a vol rat, whose comments in the previous thread align with what they wrote in CT.
OTOH, @chefjess posted favorably there about the previous vintage of this. Not that there can’t be a decline from one year to the next.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2019 Metrick Rancho la Viña Pinot Noir - $54 = 24.10%
Rat here for the Metrick Pinot Noir. I opened this up for dinner with chicken fajitas. I’m sorry to report that this one wasn’t great.
The color is on the darker end of raspberry - a bit lighter than I expected for a Pinot. Maybe that was a hint? I got a massive whiff of wild strawberry on the nose and not a lot of heavy alcohol burn. It held a lot of promise, but…
When tasted alone, this wine is…tart. Very tart. The only thing I really got in my first few sips was not-quite ripe strawberry (like, the berry is red, but just barely) with a tad of not quite ripe raspberries. The tannins were almost nonexistant as was the alcohol.
When I tasted it with the fajitas, some of the tartness thankfully backed off, and more of a ripe strawberry came out. That said, it didn’t really stand up well to the fajitas. It just couldn’t cut through the spice, and the fajitas weren’t horribly spicy.
I wanted to like this, but the best word I could come up with for this wine is “disappointing”. The nose gave me such high hopes.
I’d suggest trying out as a berry sangria, but that would be one expensive sangria.
Oh happy day when the brown truck delivers a rat bottle. Inside was the 2019 Metrick, Sta. Rita Hills ava Pinot Noir.
We love Pinto Noirs, so we placed in the wine fridge and planned an appropriate dinner. First thing we noticed was that there was no seal of any type over the cork. We know this is a recent trend for ecological reasons. 
A couple of days later at pop-and-pour, the cork appeared to be in excellent condition, and there were no apparent indications of corkage or any other storage problems. The Metrick has a deep ruby color with good clarity. There was not much nose presentation, with some notes of red berries. First taste was astringent and frankly unpleasant. We paired this wine with rotisserie chicken and a mushroom and garlic pasta. 
. After breathing about 15 minutes, hubby noted red berries with hints of rasberry, but still overly acidic and bitter notes. Wife could not get past the bitter to detect any discernable flavor notes. Allowing the wine to breathe longer, hubby detected a shift to strawberry with hints of vanilla and found it drinkable. Wife continued to be overwhelmed by bitter and acid did not enjoy this wine at all. We hoped 24 hours under cork would allow this pinot a chance to open-up and improve. Unfortunately, when we tasted the next evening, the flavor was even worse. We appreciate all the love and labor that goes into producing a wine, and we hate giving a poor review. But, one of the things we have valued over the years about the Case Mates community is the honest and straightforward feedback members are willing to share. We found this wine to be frankly unpleasant and ended up pouring the last of the bottle down the drain (something we hardly ever do). Instead of finishing the Metrick, we opened another bottle of pinot noir we had acquired from Case Mates (at a comprable/lower price) earlier and enjoyed it thoroughly. As always, we appreciate the chance to serve as Lab Rats.
In case you wondered too - (from Wikipedia) Sta. Rita Hills is an American Viticultural Area located in Santa Barbara County, California. From its creation in 2001 through 2006, the wine appellation was officially named Santa Rita Hills AVA. The formal name change was the result of a protest by and subsequent negotiations with Vina Santa Rita, a very large Chilean wine producer that was concerned about the AVA name diluting its international brand value. The name change took effect on January 5, 2006, with a yearlong period for producers in the AVA to change their wine labels.
Tried a case of these on the previous offering. Not to my liking, gave them away.
Well it’s Friday, my Illini won and I picked all three of 11 over 6…I have New Mexico as well but not because of seeding but because they are playing Clemson…ha!
Ok there has to be one useless note out there right? Right!
From WineBerserkers, discussing Metrick wines:
FWIW, I bought a case of the 2019 Pinot Noir Rancho la Viña Vineyard off a discount site when I saw it pop up and I’ve been quite pleased with my purchase. Corey_N 6/23
Maybe this is an afwe wine???
(Metrick no longer producing btw)
fwiw
@kaolis I had to search AFWE.
This site is continues to be a cornucopia of terms used by the oenophiles in the know.
:-)
Can’t wait to find a way to weave this into conversation this evening!
Makes you wonder why they would even bring a wine like this on the site?
I agree that this wine shouldn’t be offered on here. Scratching my head since WD is usually very good at vetting and protecting his brand
@losthighwayz Saying this because you’ve had it or just because of the commentary? I have to admit I’m tempted on a 3 pack
@kaolis comments by rats and CT. I was interested first time it was offered but no winery participation made me pause
Glad that I did but that’s me
@losthighwayz 2020 was the last wine he made, so not surprised at not chiming in.
I’m intrigued. In for 3. Will report back be it good or bad!
@kaolis I’m curious if you’ve tried it yet
Ok, enought about the wine, this is to clarify my stance on the voting… I like my beer by the imperial measurement (ounce), my whiskey by the shot, and my wine by the 750 ml bottle…
One thing, I’d like to mention, after living in Europe for almost 6 years, and noticed the last several years when visiting, is all the glasses that they serve their drinks in, are marked, with the size of the glass’s capacity, and a line. Example .25 L, .45 L, .7 L, beats the hell out of the American S, M, L. designation where who knows what the restaurant wants to serve you, in what size cups.
@winecaseaholic even worse when you go to a restaurant and wine is by the glass then they pour you about 2.5 oz instead of the standard 5. But charge you like it’s a 6 oz pour.
Europe is so much more civilised about all of this stuff.
@marjoryk Ok, these were delivered about three weeks ago, popped one last night. Not 100 points but it was very good. Definitely an acid driven, food friendly wine. Deep core of dark red berry fruit that only became more prominent as the night went on. Medium tannins, nice finish. I’ll probably try another one in a year or so, my thoughts are time will knit this together a bit more. Tossed it at a veal stew in a light fresh tomato sauce with a ton of fresh garlic and herb over fresh pasta and they played together nicely. Lovely bride enjoyed as well. Apparently two yak palates in this house. Now y’all know if I rat another offer and enjoy it you need to run away fast…ha!