Day 2 - Santa Rita Hills
My second adventure began with a different entrance route, proceeding up US 101 for 60 miles until heading east on CA 126 to Santa Ynez. The first stop of the day was at Alma Rosa, the winery started by Santa Barbara County wine legend Richard Sanford after selling his eponymous winery. Located on a winding dirt road, the picturesque setting for the rustic tasting room set amidst the vineyards instantly put me in positive frame of mind. The tasting room was manned by a charming aging hippie who regaled us with local gossip while also expounding on the wines he was pouring. Again, given an option of two different tastings, I opted in this case for the all-Pinot tasting as that was the reason I was visiting.
2008 Pinot Noir Clone 115 - bright strawberry and cranberry fruit, crisp acidity, tight
A select clone drawn from their La Encantada vineyard, this wine was the antithesis of what one expects from the Santa Rita Hills. More than anything else, it resembled a 2006 Drouhin Chorey-les-Beaune that we had at Christmastime.
2008 Pinot Noir Clone 667 - black raspberry, sliightly alcoholic, fairly full bodied
Another clone from the same vineyard. What a difference clonal selection makes! This was big, dark and alcoholic.
2008 Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills - earth, minerals, dark fruit, medium body, acids
Their more generic bottling, this was scaled back from the Clone 667 and more restained, a theme that would run through most of the wines here.
2007 Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills - red raspberry, slightly alcoholic, tannic, rich
And here we note the difference that vintage makes. Everywhere I went, 2007 was described as a "dream" year, by which they meant that it was easy and uncomplicated to grow and harvest grapes and make wine from them. In comparison to the '08, this wine was both lighter and more structured, showing me more promise for future development, marred only by the alcohol evident in the nose (14.5% vs. 14.1% for the '08).
2007 Pinot Noir La Encantada Vyd - red cherry, beet, perfumed, firm acidity, deep fruit
Less tight and structured than the '06, which we'd had earlier in the year. This year's version was rounder and more giving, but showed less promise for further development. It will still likely benefit from a few years in the bottle.
Our next stop was at Dierberg, west on 126 en route to Lompoc. In addition to making wines with the Dierberg label from grapes grown in the Santa Maria Valley, they also make Star Lane wines (sounded like a bowling alley to me) from Santa Ynez Valley grapes (they have 100+ acres there, only 13 of which are currently under vine) and have a second label (Three Saints) for declassified fruit. Again, we were the only visitors there. The wines were poured by the charming Holly, an enology student at Cal Poly SLO and a great spokesperson for the wines.
2007 Star Lane Sauvignon Blanc - grapefruit, floral, mineral, crisp acidity -- very much in the Marlborough SB mold
2008 Dierberg Chardonnay "Steel" - stones, a hint of citrus fruit, crisp acidity, fairly light on its feet -- I'd liken this to a good Macon or Beaujolais Blanc
2007 Three Saints Chardonnay Santa Maria Vly - sulfur, slightly toasty, lightly buttery, modest fruit, balanced acidty -- yawn
2007 Three Saints Pinot Noir Santa Maria - initially piney, dark fruit, oak, medium body -- yawn squared
2006 Dierberg Pinot Noir - soft, feminine, rich fruit, not oaky -- OK, but unexciting
2006 Star Lane Merlot - slightly green, plums, soft, rich, some structure -- not bad, but it's Merlot
2006 Dierberg Syrah - brambly, dark fruit, structured -- a very creditable example of CA Syrah
2005 Star Lane Cabernet Sauvignon (80/15/5 CS/M/PV) - herbal, pencil lead, firmly structured, dark fruit -- appealingly savory, surprisingly structured
2005 Star Lane Cabernet Sauvignon 'Astral' - cassis, soft, jammy -- pretty much the antithesis of the previous wine
The final stop of the trip was in Solvang, that kitschy Dutch-American community in the midst of the Santa Ynez Valley. Au Bon Cliimat, the pioneering producer of Burgundian wines headed by the iconoclastic Jim Clendennen, has no tasting room, but their are available for tasting at a wine bar/retailer Taste of the Valleys in downtown Solvang. They were pouring 6 ABC wines, so for $15 I could taste all 6 plus another wine.
2006 ABC Santa Maria Valley Chardonnnay -- sulfur and toast on the nose, a reasonable, lemony Chardonnay that isn't flabby in the mouth
2005 ABC Hildegarde White (Pinot Gris/Pinot Blanc/Aligot) -- apples and lemons amidst butter and oak
2007 ABC Pinot Noir Isabel Morgan -- stewed tomatoes in the nose (heat damage?) but silky and rich on the palate
2007 ABC Pinot Noir Knox Alexander -- smoke and cherries, structured with a hint of oak
2006 ABC Pinot Noir Los Alamos Vineyard -- a bit of alcoholic heat, red fruit, firm acids and a long finish, quite appealing
2006 ABC Pinot Noir Sanford-Benedict Vineyard -- smoke, minerals and spice, rich, deep fruit with great balance, very nice stuff
And now for something completely different:
2007 Margerum M5 (Syrah/Grenache/Mourvedre/Counoise/Cinsault) -- fresh red fruit in the nose, but a creamy texture belies the structural elements, not too bad
With that as my finale, I departed Solvang and the Santa Ynez Valley, heading back to my digs in Ventura. Highlights from this day were the Alma Rosa Clone 115 PN, the Dierberg Syrah and the ABC Sanford-Benedict Pinot. Each of the producers had something to offer, but none of the wines tasted are likely to be mistaken for a cool climate wine.
Mark Lipton
My second adventure began with a different entrance route, proceeding up US 101 for 60 miles until heading east on CA 126 to Santa Ynez. The first stop of the day was at Alma Rosa, the winery started by Santa Barbara County wine legend Richard Sanford after selling his eponymous winery. Located on a winding dirt road, the picturesque setting for the rustic tasting room set amidst the vineyards instantly put me in positive frame of mind. The tasting room was manned by a charming aging hippie who regaled us with local gossip while also expounding on the wines he was pouring. Again, given an option of two different tastings, I opted in this case for the all-Pinot tasting as that was the reason I was visiting.
2008 Pinot Noir Clone 115 - bright strawberry and cranberry fruit, crisp acidity, tight
A select clone drawn from their La Encantada vineyard, this wine was the antithesis of what one expects from the Santa Rita Hills. More than anything else, it resembled a 2006 Drouhin Chorey-les-Beaune that we had at Christmastime.
2008 Pinot Noir Clone 667 - black raspberry, sliightly alcoholic, fairly full bodied
Another clone from the same vineyard. What a difference clonal selection makes! This was big, dark and alcoholic.
2008 Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills - earth, minerals, dark fruit, medium body, acids
Their more generic bottling, this was scaled back from the Clone 667 and more restained, a theme that would run through most of the wines here.
2007 Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills - red raspberry, slightly alcoholic, tannic, rich
And here we note the difference that vintage makes. Everywhere I went, 2007 was described as a "dream" year, by which they meant that it was easy and uncomplicated to grow and harvest grapes and make wine from them. In comparison to the '08, this wine was both lighter and more structured, showing me more promise for future development, marred only by the alcohol evident in the nose (14.5% vs. 14.1% for the '08).
2007 Pinot Noir La Encantada Vyd - red cherry, beet, perfumed, firm acidity, deep fruit
Less tight and structured than the '06, which we'd had earlier in the year. This year's version was rounder and more giving, but showed less promise for further development. It will still likely benefit from a few years in the bottle.
Our next stop was at Dierberg, west on 126 en route to Lompoc. In addition to making wines with the Dierberg label from grapes grown in the Santa Maria Valley, they also make Star Lane wines (sounded like a bowling alley to me) from Santa Ynez Valley grapes (they have 100+ acres there, only 13 of which are currently under vine) and have a second label (Three Saints) for declassified fruit. Again, we were the only visitors there. The wines were poured by the charming Holly, an enology student at Cal Poly SLO and a great spokesperson for the wines.
2007 Star Lane Sauvignon Blanc - grapefruit, floral, mineral, crisp acidity -- very much in the Marlborough SB mold
2008 Dierberg Chardonnay "Steel" - stones, a hint of citrus fruit, crisp acidity, fairly light on its feet -- I'd liken this to a good Macon or Beaujolais Blanc
2007 Three Saints Chardonnay Santa Maria Vly - sulfur, slightly toasty, lightly buttery, modest fruit, balanced acidty -- yawn
2007 Three Saints Pinot Noir Santa Maria - initially piney, dark fruit, oak, medium body -- yawn squared
2006 Dierberg Pinot Noir - soft, feminine, rich fruit, not oaky -- OK, but unexciting
2006 Star Lane Merlot - slightly green, plums, soft, rich, some structure -- not bad, but it's Merlot
2006 Dierberg Syrah - brambly, dark fruit, structured -- a very creditable example of CA Syrah
2005 Star Lane Cabernet Sauvignon (80/15/5 CS/M/PV) - herbal, pencil lead, firmly structured, dark fruit -- appealingly savory, surprisingly structured
2005 Star Lane Cabernet Sauvignon 'Astral' - cassis, soft, jammy -- pretty much the antithesis of the previous wine
The final stop of the trip was in Solvang, that kitschy Dutch-American community in the midst of the Santa Ynez Valley. Au Bon Cliimat, the pioneering producer of Burgundian wines headed by the iconoclastic Jim Clendennen, has no tasting room, but their are available for tasting at a wine bar/retailer Taste of the Valleys in downtown Solvang. They were pouring 6 ABC wines, so for $15 I could taste all 6 plus another wine.
2006 ABC Santa Maria Valley Chardonnnay -- sulfur and toast on the nose, a reasonable, lemony Chardonnay that isn't flabby in the mouth
2005 ABC Hildegarde White (Pinot Gris/Pinot Blanc/Aligot) -- apples and lemons amidst butter and oak
2007 ABC Pinot Noir Isabel Morgan -- stewed tomatoes in the nose (heat damage?) but silky and rich on the palate
2007 ABC Pinot Noir Knox Alexander -- smoke and cherries, structured with a hint of oak
2006 ABC Pinot Noir Los Alamos Vineyard -- a bit of alcoholic heat, red fruit, firm acids and a long finish, quite appealing
2006 ABC Pinot Noir Sanford-Benedict Vineyard -- smoke, minerals and spice, rich, deep fruit with great balance, very nice stuff
And now for something completely different:
2007 Margerum M5 (Syrah/Grenache/Mourvedre/Counoise/Cinsault) -- fresh red fruit in the nose, but a creamy texture belies the structural elements, not too bad
With that as my finale, I departed Solvang and the Santa Ynez Valley, heading back to my digs in Ventura. Highlights from this day were the Alma Rosa Clone 115 PN, the Dierberg Syrah and the ABC Sanford-Benedict Pinot. Each of the producers had something to offer, but none of the wines tasted are likely to be mistaken for a cool climate wine.
Mark Lipton