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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 Climat, 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/Aligoté) -- 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 beets, 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. (Doug Margerum's father is a colleague of mine, now Emeritus, so I had to satisfy curiosity) 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 -- alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net |
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>
> The final stop of the trip was in Solvang, that kitschy Dutch-American > community in the midst of the Santa Ynez Valley. Au Bon Climat, the I enjoyed your trip through the Santa Ynez Valley but I must take exception to your description of Solvang as a "kitschy Dutch-American community" My grandmother (120% Danish) is rolling in her grave! That is a kitschy Danish-American community. All those flags with the funny crosses on them are Scandanavian. That said, some of the best potato salad and butter cookies live there too... |
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Ronin wrote:
>> >> The final stop of the trip was in Solvang, that kitschy Dutch-American >> community in the midst of the Santa Ynez Valley. Au Bon Climat, the > > > I enjoyed your trip through the Santa Ynez Valley but I must take > exception to your description of Solvang as a "kitschy Dutch-American > community" My grandmother (120% Danish) is rolling in her grave! That > is a kitschy Danish-American community. All those flags with the funny > crosses on them are Scandanavian. That said, some of the best potato > salad and butter cookies live there too... > You are 100% right. I had a brain cramp when composing that little travelogue. Sorry, Granny! I stand by the kitschy comment, though. Mark Lipton -- alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net |
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On Apr 9, 11:27�pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> 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 Climat, 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 beets, 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. > > (Doug Margerum's father is a colleague of mine, now Emeritus, so I had > to satisfy curiosity) > > 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 > > -- > alt.food.wine FAQ: �http://winefaq.cwdjr.net Mark, I noticed that none of the tastings included a 100% grenache wine. Were they not available? |
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