Wine + Other Flotation Devices: Santa Barbara Wine Country- June '09

2009's wine country road trip started with a flight into LA on a Thursday morning and a quick jaunt up into Santa Barbara. By the time we finally made our way over the San Marcos Pass and into Santa Ynez Valley, we had time for a quick stop at Beckmen Vineyards to kick things off.

I had enjoyed their Cuvee Le Bec before (a Southern Rhone style blend) and had read about them otherwise, so I was looking forward to the stop. Walking in, the winemaker Steve Beckmen and the pourer were engaged with another party, so we looked over the two tasting options and opted for the basic tasting. Getting into the tasting we were able to get quite a few pours from the reserve list, so it all worked out.

Having just gotten off of a long early morning flight, talking to the winemaker was kind of blowing my mind... and my palate wasn't really connecting either. With that in mind, what I did enjoy were a couple of really good Sauvignon Blancs. The 2007 and 2008 Estates both were great wines. The 2007 being an explosive tropical fruit style not unlike a New Zealand SB, with the 2008 switching to a more traditional California style with notes of tree fruit and grassiness. Of the other wines I tasted, I was really taken by their Grenache. There was a Rose, an Estate bottling, and a Purisma Mountain vineyard bottling. The reds really over-delivered on grip and tannins- more than I expected from a Grenache. I also tasted a reserve and a Purisma Mountain Syrah. Opposite of the Grenache, the Syrahs gave less tannin and grip than expected, but the finesse was nice. I thought the Estate Syrah was a pretty good buy... would have to revisit the Purisma Mountain Syrah another time to get a good opinion on it.

Beckmen's wines are all in the $20-$50 price range, and they hold their own in their price points. The question with them is style. To me, their Rhone varietal reds have alot of mellow fruit and sweet spice notes. On the syrahs, they're lighter on the tannins and peppery notes that you might expect.

We ate dinner that night at the Hitching Post II. The steak was awesome as advertised. The wines on the other hand were a little disappointing. I tried the Santa Rita's Earth Pinot Noir and the Syrah. Both were all fruit, and seemed deflated by a lack of acidity and tannins. I probably should have tried the Highliner Pinot Noir to get a real feel for them. Again, it was long day and my palate could have been off...

The next day started with a tour at Melville Winery in Santa Rita Hills. Like Beckmen, Melville is all estate grown. Like most in Santa Rita Hills, Burgundian varietals are the focus. I'd been to the winery before and was already a fan; this trip further solidified my fandom. The tasting room manager hooked us up with a great tour that included a little jaunt out into the vineyards. We got to see newly formed clusters of chardonnay and syrah as she pointed out the differences between them.

As for the wines- we tasted though the Verna's & Santa Rita Hills Estate Chardonnays. Melville's Chardonnays are barrel fermented in mostly neutral oak and with just a little bit of maloactic fermentation, you get alot of nuanced fruit, minerality, and acidity... a Burgundian style that's really pleasing. The Pinot Noirs were from the estate small lot collection- Carrie's and The Terraces. Both of these wines are big and extremely complex- completely fantastic wines that you'll want to hang onto for a while. North of $50 per bottle, they're more than worth the price. There's alot of technical information on their website on the clones, vineyard practices, and winemaking practices for these wines (http://www.melvillewinery.com/)... too much to get into here. As for their other wines, they make a few Syrahs. We tasted the Estate Syrah... it's nice but a little anticlimatic after the Pinot's. Cool climate, lighter in style, finesse. I tend to like Santa Ynez Syrah over the Santa Rita Hills ones. The Verna's Viognier was really good- great aromatics, fruit, enough acidity... really nice. Thanks again Melville for a great visit.

As for the rest of the day, we hit the tasting room at Lafond in Santa Rita Hills. Some quick notes on Lafond- big, buttery, oaky Chardonnays, one was from the Sanford and Benedict Vineyard... good but not my favorite style; solid Pinot Noir- generous red fruit but nice balance with earthiness & spice- nice value on the Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir at $27; I wasn't big on the Syrah- felt like it needed more tannins. Overall I liked Lafond, but I would gravitate to the SRH line in the $20 range- really good values from a small collection of vineyards in Santa Rita Hills. Their single vineyard wines were good too, but the SRH line really delivers on bang for the buck.
Next we were at River Bench Winery in Santa Maria Valley. It is all estate grown fruit from the long standing River Bench Vineyard. They made a Pinot Noir Rose which I wasn't really into; three different Chardonnays that ranged from an unoaked style to a fully oaked maloactic style- all very good; and two Pinot Noirs. I liked their Pinot Noir. Differing from what I had in Santa Rita Hills, this was lighter in color & a little more fragrant with a really pronounced spice notes & acidity- the tannins and earthiness lurking in the background. All these wines ranged from $24 to $42- all fairly priced.

Finally on our way out of SB County we stopped at Laetitia in the Arroyo Grande Valley. It was "free tasting Friday" so we just tasted through some of the basics. The n/v Brut sparkler was very nice; they had a great little Pinot Gris; and their Pinot Noirs delivered as well. It was the end of the day, so my palate wasn't as sharp... I'd love to revisit and spend a little more time at Laetitia...

And then it was on to Paso Robles....

So putting this visit to Santa Barbara County into a synapsis... The Pinot Noirs excelled in both Santa Rita Hills and Santa Maria Valley. The Chardonnay's were solid as well. I didn't find a Syrah (or other Rhone varietal) that I loved at any of the stops... I'd try Beckmen again and next time I'll get to Zaca Mesa and the Qupe tasting room.... Didn't try any Bordeaux varietal (other than Beckmen's excellent Sauv Bl) or Cal/Ital styles this time... Beckmen has a Cab on their list but wanted to pour something else instead.