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In the past few years, we have heard a lot about the "all-star" vineyards of the Santa Rita Hills. A couple of years ago the Wine Cask Futures Tasting introduced the wine world to the Sea Smoke Vineyard - now a household name for every Pinot lover in the country. Clos Pepe, Cargasacchi, and Fiddlestix Vineyards have also received great attention over the past few seasons and just when you think all the prime dirt was already tapped into, Peter Work and his wife Rebecca come along to remind us that we may have just scratched the surface. After seeing the
horror of September 11 first hand, Peter and Rebecca Work thought long and hard
about their globe-trotting jobs in the world of corporate consulting. Not
long after that fateful day in 2001, Peter and Rebecca traded in their dark suits for dusty
wranglers and made the permanent move to their 80 acre ranch in a little known area
outside Lompoc that would
become the Santa Rita Hills AVA. After years of farming and "writing
a whole lot of checks" their 16 acre "Ampelos Vineyard" is starting to pay
dividends. At this year's Futures Tasting, both Chad Melville's Samsara label and
Jaffurs showed stunning "Ampelos Vineyard" Syrahs packed with
explosive cool climate fruit and a tell-tale white pepper finish. As for Pinot from this meticulously
farmed property, it will be mostly split between Bruno D'Alfonso's new
"Badge" label and Peter and Rebecca's estate Ampelos project (where
their son Don has taken the helm as
winemaker).
Although Peter and Rebecca's estate wines weren't ready in time for this year's Futures Tasting, their current wines made from purchased fruit showed nicely. The Ampelos "Syrache" - a blend of Syrah and Grenache from both warm and cool climate vineyards - was one of the stand-out Rhône blends of the tasting. While wines like this Ampelos Syrache showed how beautiful a marriage between Grenache and Syrah can be, others at the Futures Tasting showed just how good Grenache can get living on its own. As harvest was rapidly approaching last year, Ethan Lindquist got a call from a fellow winemaker who asked if Ethan wanted a few precious tons of Grenache from the Vogelzang Vineyard in eastern Santa Ynez's Happy Canyon area. Ethan said "Yes" before the voice on the other line could even finish. He heard the only two words he needed - "Grenache" and "Vogelzang". Ethan made the best of this "one hit wonder" that served up a deadly combination of spice and ripe cherry pie at this year's Futures Tasting. Kenneth Crawford and Gary Burk's "Duo" label also showcased complex stand-on-its-own Grenache this year. Both Kenneth Crawford and Duo sourced fruit from the Larner Vineyard in Ballard Canyon - a vineyard that is quickly proving to be nirvana for Grenache in Santa Barbara County. Both were outstanding examples of what to expect from this often overshadowed Rhône varietal.
While there were several exciting Grenache based wines at this year's Futures Tasting, don't worry about Syrah or Pinot being pushed aside anytime soon. As in years past, the Futures Tasting was a great opportunity to try these two sure-bets. As you would expect, Sea Smoke, Au Bon Climat, Hitching Post, and other standard-bearers showed outstanding Pinots again this year while producers like Kenneth-Crawford and Casa Cassara offered their Pinot Noirs for the first time. Top-flight Pinot Noir may be a limited commodity in the world of wine, but there is never a shortage on these two springs days in downtown Santa Barbara. For Syrah, we saw a repeat performance by many of last year's standouts. Joey Tensley's new Tierra Alta offering and mainstay Colson Canyon delivered again this year and Doug Margerum's latest Syrah - from Dan and Megan Reeves' new Black Oak Vineyard in Los Alamos - packed in dark fruit and mocha notes for its well received debut. With so many new vineyards in the area producing great wine for this year's event, one might think that winemakers overlooked the vineyards that put Santa Barbara on the global wine map - think again. Long time sommelier turned winemaker, Paul Lato, offered his miniscule production of Pinot and Syrah from two vineyards planted well before Sideways was even a twinkle in Rex Pickett's eye. When Paul first came to California to make wine after over a decade of sommelier experience in Toronto, he got a job working for the Miller family and lived in a guesthouse out on the Bien Nacido Vineyard. Paul saw, smelled, and soaked up the vineyard as it went through its yearly cycle. He got to know the distinct characteristics of Bien Nacido's different blocks from bud break to bottle.
When Paul finally decided to take the plunge into winemaking, he capitalized on his intimate connection with Bien Nacido and has turned out sophisticated cool climate Syrah for his first two vintages. This year's offering came from a hillside block directly above the historic Ontiveros Adobe, and was one of most elegant and well balanced Syrahs I have had in a long while. For his Pinot offering, Paul crafted a delicate, yet soulful wine from the old Martini clone blocks at Gary Burk's "Gold Coast" vineyard also in the Santa Maria Valley. While he looks to France for inspiration, Paul's intent is to simply make "beautiful California wines" and he has certainly accomplished that goal in his first two vintages. Some of the more seasoned veterans also crafted brilliant wines from the county's "older" vineyards. For example, Gary Burk's own Costa de Oro wines from the Gold Coast vineyard (the "777" and "Reserva Oro Rojo") were stand-outs at this year's tasting for those who prefer more delicate Burgundy-inspired Pinot Noir. Morgan Clendenen's "Old-Vines" Viognier from the Sanford & Benedict Vineyard was another special effort with its fresh aromatics, clean flavor profile, and surprisingly dense mouthfeel. It certainly re-affirmed Morgan's reign as Queen of this exotic white varital.
Whether you are a Pinot-file, a Syrah lover, or an adventurous wine lover seeking out new blends and exotic varietals, the Wine Cask Futures Tasting in quickly becoming an event that provides top quality choices for almost any palate. As opposed to some other tastings where wineries just pour through their entire line-up, each wine at Futures Tasting has been carefully selected by dedicated winemakers and Doug Margerum's critical palate. If you are a fan of California wines, hopefully you made it to event, or are at least able to try some of these wines in the near future. Cheers - Tim Grubb
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