United States · California

Brewer-Clifton

Brewer-Clifton is a Santa Barbara County producer founded in 1995 by Greg Brewer and Steve Clifton, focusing on single-vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from the Santa Rita Hills AVA. The partnership produced some of California's most celebrated expressions of both varieties from benchmarks including Clos Pepe, Mount Carmel, and Melville vineyards. Brewer-Clifton was instrumental in establishing Santa Rita Hills as a world-class cool-climate wine region. The Sea Smoke Chardonnay — from the storied Sea Smoke Vineyard before it went estate-only — and the Mount Carmel and Clos Pepe Pinot Noirs were the portfolio highlights. Across 403 auction lots, the estate averages $72 per bottle with prices reaching $923. After the partnership dissolved in 2012, Brewer continued under the Brewer-Clifton name. Wines from the joint partnership era (1995–2012) are most prized at auction. Top bottlings from key vintages including 2007, 2010, and 2012 earned scores of 95–97 from Wine Advocate.

Brewer and Clifton co-founded the label in 1995 and helped establish Santa Rita Hills as a premier Chardonnay and Pinot Noir region; their Clos Pepe and Mount Carmel Pinots are benchmark wines for the appellation.

Sea Smoke Chardonnay, sourced from the Sea Smoke Vineyard in the Santa Rita Hills before Sea Smoke went estate-only, earned scores of 95–97 and is among the most sought-after vintages at auction.

The partnership dissolved in 2012; bottles from the joint production era (1995–2012) carry a premium at auction over post-dissolution releases under the continued Brewer-Clifton name.

403 auction lots average $72 per bottle with a ceiling of $923, the higher end driven by scarce joint-era Clos Pepe Pinot Noir and Sea Smoke Chardonnay from exceptional vintages.

Auction Lots

403

Avg Price / Bottle

$72

Top Vintage

2015

Price Range

$12 – $923

In the Glass

Brewer-Clifton Santa Rita Hills wines are quintessentially cool-climate: Chardonnays show stone fruit, citrus, cream, and mineral precision with well-integrated oak; Pinot Noirs are structured and red-fruited — cranberry, raspberry, dried rose, and earth — with bright acidity and silky tannins. Clos Pepe shows greater floral complexity and tension; Mount Carmel is rounder and more immediately accessible. The style resembles fine Burgundy in its emphasis on freshness and terroir expression.

Portfolio

Wine	Colour	Avg Price	Lots Sold	Top Vintage
Sea Smoke Chardonnay	White	$72	27	2015
Mount Carmel Pinot Noir	Red	$113	25	2007
Clos Pepe Pinot Noir	Red	$55	23	2015
Sweeney Canyon Chardonnay	White	$66	18	2008
Cargasacchi Pinot Noir	Red	$53	16	2005
Mount Carmel Chardonnay	White	$52	16	2011
Ashley's Pinot Noir	Red	$23	8	2003
Rancho Santa Rosa Pinot Noir	Red	$45	8	2004
Rio Vista Pinot Noir	Red	$39	8	2005
Kimberly Pinot Noir	Red	$51	6	2002
Melville Pinot Noir	Red	$38	6	2007
3D Chardonnay	White	$173	6	2009
Chardonnay	White	$102	5	2021

Brewer-Clifton is based in the California wine region.

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