“The 2012 Pinot Noir Reflektor Machado might be the single finest wine I have ever tasted from Steve Clifton.”
—Antonio Galloni
From Santa Barbara: On the Road (Aug 2015) by Antonio Galloni, of vinous.com:
“I was quite taken with the new Pinot Noirs I tasted from La Voix (the voice), Steve Clifton’s new Pinot label. Around the time Greg Brewer started his Diatom project, Clifton decided to start experimenting with small lots of Pinot Noir. According to Clifton “Brewer-Clifton is all about self-imposed constraints. The wines are made identically in order to showcase the unique personality of each site. With La Voix I want see what happens if there are no constraints at all.” The wines I tasted suggested that the results are pretty exciting. The Pinots are made with mostly destemmed fruit, native fermentations and see very little new oak. The portfolio of sites has bounced around a bit, but I expect that will settle down as Clifton focuses more on this project. Vintage 2015 should see new wines from Kessler-Haak and Cargasacchi to round out the range. For years, Steve Clifton was insistent on the importance of working with estate vineyards at Brewer-Clifton. Now, at La Voix, he is back to sourcing fruit from vineyards farmed by other producers. Needless to say, it will be interesting to see how things develop in the coming years.”
2014 La Voix Pinot Noir Rebel Rebel – Quinta del Mar Vineyard
The 2014 Pinot Noir Rebel Rebel Quinta del Mar Vineyard is laced with succulent red cherries, plums, leather menthol and spices. Plump and forward in style, the 2014 offers plenty of appeal in a distinctly open-knit, juicy style.
91-93 points
Drink through 2022
2013 La Voix Pinot Noir Satisfaction – Kessler-Haak Vineyard
The 2013 Pinot Noir Satisfaction Kessler-Haak Vineyard, is the most aromatic and lifted of the three Pinot Noirs I tasted from Steve Clifton’s new La Voix label. Sweet tobacco, herbs, rose petal, pine, mint and dried cherries are woven together in a distinctly feminine Pinot Noir built on a sense of delicacy. Hints of orange peel and white pepper add an exotic flair on the mid-weight finish. It will be interesting to see what happens when Kessler-Haak becomes a regular part of the lineup starting in 2015.
92 points
Drink through 2023
2012 La Voix Pinot Noir Reflektor – Machado
The 2012 Pinot Noir Reflektor Machado might be the single finest wine I have ever tasted from Steve Clifton. Exotic, aromatically expressive and unapologetically intense, the 2012 boasts superb delineation, nuance and exceptional overall balance. Some of that may come from picking slightly earlier than is the norm at Brewer-Clifton, but my sense is that there is much more to it than just that. The 2012 simply has it all going on. What a gorgeous wine this is. Machado is a vineyard that Steve Clifton and Greg Brewer originally developed for Brewer-Clifton.
95 points
Drink through 2022
