2013 Aiken Pinot Noir Fiddlestix Vineyard Sta Rita Hills 750 ml

The Pinot Noir I Risked My Life For

My connection to this wine began as soon as the grapes were picked. As a newly minted cellar worker, one of my first tasks was to usher this pristine fruit from berry to wine. Having tasted it from the beginning, it is honestly drinking better than ever, and if you’re a lover of the refined power only Pinot Noir can possess, this is a must-have bottle. 

The 2013 Aiken Wines Fiddlestix Pinot Noir comes from one of the greatest winemaker’s you’ve likely never heard of—and one of the few winemakers still working in Napa Valley who studied under the legendary André Tchelistceff. 

Understated, and with an incredibly dry sense of humor, Joel Aiken’s humble presence belies an incredible career in wine. After getting his Masters from UC Davis, he found his way to Beaulieu Vineyards. In short order, at the impossible age of 28, he was named winemaker and put in charge of every stage of production. It was here that he worked with the late, great Andre Tchelistcheff—the Russian born, French-trained winemaker that almost single-handedly re-created the winemaking culture of Napa Valley post Prohibition. Through his 27 years at BV, he also worked on extensive Pinot Noir clonal research, and with global winemaker Michel Rolland—lessons that have shaped Joel into one of Napa’s shooting stars. 

In 2012 Joel started his own label, and the 2013 Aiken Wines Pinot Noir Fiddlestix Vineyards is the second vintage he sourced from his friend and esteemed grape grower Kathy Joseph. Ideally situated in the Santa Rita Hills outside Santa Barbara, Fiddlestix has long been a component in many great Pinots of the region. Aiken’s version is poised to follow suit, bursting from the glass with cherry flavors and deeply complex spice and floral undertones and long, satiny finish. 

Joel is thoughtful and grape-obsessed above all, but his demeanor forever changed how I view and appreciate winemaking. The job I’ll never forget was “punching down” this 2013 Fiddlestix Pinot Noir, which sounds far easier than it is. When I first climbed on top of the tank, standing on a wobbly 2x14 board, I couldn’t get the wine to move—The carbon dioxide produced from the fermentation was so abundant, leaning my full 215lbs on the punch tool, it still wouldn’t budge.  

“Hey, Joel,” I called out, “I think something is wrong!”

“Put your back into it,” he replied, without skipping a beat. “I thought people from Texas were supposed to be strong!”

I doubled down, sweating.  “Don’t fall in, though. The CO2 will kill you,” he reminded me with a wry smile. Slowly, the sweet cherry-scented juice began to break through the cap, and at that moment I realized how challenging a task winemaking actually is. I can tell you from first-hand experience this wine is truly a labor of love, though drinking this 2013 is the opposite of work. 

I fell in love with winemaking that day, and with this wine in particular. Working for Joel, I was involved in every aspect from sorting to bottling, including less-than-glamorous jobs like draining tanks and digging out grape skins with a shovel; filling and racking the barrels; and blending the final product. I can thus attest to what a thoughtful, creative, and careful winemaker Joel Aiken is, and cannot recommend this Pinot Noir highly enough.

The result of his excellent guidance and expertise is on full display now. A full-bodied Pinot Noir, with beautifully complex aromas of wild cherry, cardamom, and anise. Six years of bottle age have added a satiny texture, and undertones of dried herbs and violets to its long finish. Try it, and you just might fall in love with this wine too—our entire team already has.