I went to an event hosted by the Guild. Brian McClintic and Matt Stamp were the hosts while several other MSs were in attendance. I wanted to share my experiences on tasting some amazing Santa Barbara wines for those that are interested.
Wine 1: 2012, Tatomer "Kick-On Ranch" Riesling (Santa Barbara County); The owner, Graham Tatomer, who has an affinity for Austrian wines, did an amazing job of replicating Austrian styles. This was bone-dry, good mineral, but gave me the most distinct flavor of oxidized green apple, but the wine is nowhere near oxidized and I feel that it has some great aging potential. Tight, but wow it gave a great finish that left you discovering more profiles. I'd pick this up if you get the chance to. 9/10
Wine 2: 2013 Lieu-Dit Sauvignon Blanc (Santa Ynez Valley AVA); Sharper in acid than I was expecting, but still a bit rounded. In all honesty, I wasn't too impressed with this. I feel bad because I know it's a good wine and lots of people like it, but it just wasn't doing anything for me. This was more Loire in style. 7/10
Wine 3: 2013 Grassini Sauvignon Blanc (Happy Canyon); I would have seriously expected this to be from New Zealand even though it's more in the style of Graves. This had some broad textures, TONS of tropical fruit and stone fruit. 8/10
Wine 4: 2012 Liquid Farm "Golden Slope" Chardonnay; This was an awesome Chardonnay. The first thing it reminded me of was Jelly Belly Popcorn flavor. They used not much new oak which didn't give that over diacetyl flavor like Napa Chardonnays can give. This was very oxidized a little which made it pretty rounded. 9/10
Wine 5: 2012 Sandhi Chardonnay (Sta. Rita Hills); Raj Parr wine. Went through 100% malo, 25% new oak. This had some nice minerality to it and was pretty pleasant to drink. I felt like this was different in that it was hard for me to point out just one style of grape, but I guess that's because he sources from 3 different vineyards. Nice fruit but awesome minerals. 8/10
Wine 6: 2013 Chanin "Bien Nacido" Chardonnay (Los Alamos); This was interesting in that it was tropical, floral and SPICY. I thought that the spicy-ness came from new oak, but apparently this is all fruit. Again, Malo, but done with style. 8/10
Wine 7:2013 Tyler "Bien Nacido" Chardonnay (Santa Maria Valley); This one still had a good tropical fruit to it. Not as much lees as the others. Sulfur was pretty obvious once it was pointed out. As soon as it was said, it was one of those "duh!" moments. 8/10
Wine 8:2013 Martian Ranch Gamay (Santa Barbara County); For me, this was reminiscent of an awesome Beaujolais. Carbonic Maceration, whole cluster. I got nice stem tannins on this, which was easy for me to spot. Classic ripe berry but some good vegi notes. 8/10
Wine 9: 2012 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir "La Bauge Au Dessus" (Santa Ynez Valley); Spicy from new oak, jammy with notes of cardamom. Nice ripe red fruit. ABC is a classic that I love. I don't think it's crazy special considering what else is out there, but this stands as a good representation for what is happening in SB.
Wine 10: 2013 Whitcraft Pinot Noir "Pence Ranch - Mt. Eden Close" (Santa Ynez Valley); This was pretty damn good. High acid, per usual, ripe strawberry jam. Not sure what the oak was but I didn't get much - if any. This, for me, was a classic great balance. I think I could have waited a bit more for this, but I think it's going to be something amazing in 3-5 years. 8.5/10
Wine 11: 2012 Brewer-Clifton Pinot Noir "Machado" (Sta. rita Hilla); This was was VERY big all around. Big ripe fruit, fair amount of heat at 14.5%, whole cluster. I got a shit-ton of vegi notes on this one more so than the others. I actually enjoyed this one so much I finished my tasting portion. 9/10
Wine 12: 2011 Ojai Syrah "Solomon Hills" 2011 (Santa Maria Valley); If are able to get this....buy it. Hunt it down. This was the winner of the night for me. This was so reminiscent of CDP, I'd fail the blind immediately. The sandy soil really brings out HEAVY black pepper and spice into this grape. Reductive and stanky, but so enjoyable. Long finish. 9.8/10
Wine 13: 2012 Stolpman Syrah (Ballard Canyon); I don't know if I still had the Ojai jogging in my mouth (even after several rinses), but this had medium-mild pepper. I got a bit of...something...in it. I couldn't put my finger on it. Wasn't sure if it was toffee or what. It was a weird but interesting oxidized flavor for me. 8.8/10
Wine 14: 1999 Qupe Syrah "Bien Nacido" (Santa Maria Valley); Again, this was good, ripe, clean, but I don't remember many specifics about this one - maybe just heavier fruit notes than non-fruit. I was one of those, "This is good!....but nothing is really pronounced to make it memorable for me." I really think that this wine is built to last. 8.8/10
Wine 15: 2004 Clandenen Family Nebbiolo Riserva (Santa Maria Valley); Well at this point of the tasting I was starting to get drunk, but I will say this: As soon as it was poured you were like, "Oh, this is Nebbi. Oxidation, but ripe and juicy. Velvet tannins but with nice ripe cherry. I also got awesome roses off of this. Apparently this did 10 years in the barrel. 9/10
What did we learn? I don't know if one could ever say, "That's a wine from Santa Barbara" in a tasting. They are just doing such a good job of replicating anything from Chablis, through the Côte-d'Or , down to Piedmont. I doubt I will ever be able to have these small producers again so it was a treat.
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from Worlds Great Wines http://ift.tt/1GbMhxu
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