A secret of Santa Rita Hills is how kind the terroir is to Pinot Grigio AKA Pinot Gris. Babcock expresses its crisply acidic, long hangtime varietal flavors in an unoaked way, with splendid citrus and tropical fruit flavors, girded by a steely minerality. The wine, by the way, is dry, although it has a honeyed richness. ——S.H.(10/1/2010)—— 88

This is a white wine for red wine lovers. Full-bodied, almost heavy, the wine is enormously rich in fruit flavors that taste oven-baked. One hundred percent barrel fermentation, partially in new oak, makes it even bigger. It’s an unusual, even eccentric, PG. Still, Babcock’s regular 05 PG, at almost half the price, is fresher and more appealing. ——S.H.(11/15/2006)—— 89