In Santa Barbara, look to the future(s)
The whole idea of futures is to taste before you buy and purchase your faves at a discount to their release prices. Quantities are limited and some futures are already sold out, but you can still preview wines you may want to buy on release. In fact, quite a number of the wines are being released concurrently with this event, while the balance are due for release later in the year. The reds, mostly Pinots and Syrahs, are from what appears to be (judged by what's in the bottle) a fabulous 1999 vintage, while the whites are from 2000.) This event always engenders a discussion on the Wine Lover's Discussion Group, usually led by savvy tasters Bernie Roth and Eric Anderson (Tom Hill was missing-in-action this year); toggling onto the discussion will give you some basis for comparison of the personal tastes involved. In the interest of full disclosure, I must confess my bias toward Santa Barbara County wines. When I first came to California over twenty-five years ago, Santa Barbara was the "wine country" right in my back yard; it was where I cut my wine tasting teeth. So perhaps I am not as critical, though my history with the region allows me some perspective on how quickly and far it has evolved as a grape growing area. Some notes from my tasting card: Au Bon Climat: Among Jim Clendenen's whites, the 1999 Pinot Blanc Reserve may be his best ever (you gotta like oak though), while I give high marks to the well balanced 1999 Le Bouge Chardonnay, the densely apple/pear/nutmeg packed 1999 Mt. Carmel and my top drop, the 1999 Nuits Blanches which is just crammed with a multitude of flavors. Among the Pinots, the 1999 Rincon and Rosemary's is as close to perfect as ABC gets; the 1999 Sanford and Benedict is ripe, velvety and a relative bargain, while both the 1999 Knox and 1999 Isabelle are extracted but elegant. Babcock: Brian Babcock's seminal Bordeaux blend, Fathom, is always impressive. The 1999 version, 45% Merlot, 45% Cab Franc and 10% Cab Sauvignon, has berry/cherry flavors that run deep, supported by plenty of vanilla. While the area is not known for Bordeaux varietals, this wine shows no sign of veggies or any other flavor distraction. Full bodied and lush in mouth, this is an ager if you can keep your hands off it now. Beckmen: No winery has come farther faster than Beckmen. They're made a real commitment to going back to the basics, as evidenced by their recent planting of the Purisima Mountain Vineyard to Tablas clones (Chateau Beaucastel via Tablas Creek in Paso Robles) of Rhone varietals. From only the fourth leaf of this vineyard, their 2000 Grenache just drips with ripe blueberry, lingonberry, pomegranate and pepper, with a serving of gaminess on the side. Frankly, it's nothing like you've ever tasted before. If this is the kind of thing we can expect when the Tablas clones fully come on line, then we're really in for a treat in the next decade. Brewer-Clifton: The two Chardonnays are remarkably different. The 2000 Marcella's (previously known as Sierra Madre, source of some great Qupe Chards) has rich flavors of pear, apple and kiwi, while the 2000 Mt. Carmel is more Chablis-like with its limestone and minerals, but shows apple, grapefruit and banana too. Both Pinots are stunning: the 2000 Julia's is huge with red/black fruits in the mouth. Wow! The 2000 Melville "Carrie's Block" is just mind-blowing in its intensity with sweet fruit, spices and a velvety finish. Cold Heaven: Morgan Clendenen chose to be a Viognier specialist (setting her apart from her husband's Chards and Pinots). Her 2000 Viognier from Sanford and Benedict is ripe and sappy, with grapefruit, lemon-lime and mango flavors that make it so much fun to drink. On the other hand, the 2000 Viognier from Alban is more concentrated, opulent and just plain more serious. It's still going through malolactic now (!) but is clearly showing the stuffing that will make it a winner. Costa de Oro: Just a warning here: taste and buy Gary Burk's excellent reserve Chard and Pinot before the prices catch up to his burgeoning reputation and what's in the bottle. The 1999 Chard "Reserva Dorada" is ripe but with great balance of fruit and acidity, a broad mid palate and a satisfying finish; nothing is out of place in this wine. The 1999 Pinot "Reserva Oro Rojo" shows great raspberry, cherry fruit with plenty of brown spices integrated into the mix. Easy to drink now, the wine will reward cellaring. Garretson: Mat's 1999 Syrah is my top Syrah (from Alban's grapes) of the tasting with its huge aromatic nose and jammy, concentrated framboise type fruit that shows great intensity all the way to the finish. Also check out his late harvest Roussanne: unusual but lush and lively. Hartley Ostini aka The Hitching Post: This year their 1999 Julia's Vineyard Pinot ranks right up there with the best in the county. The huge aromatics of ripe red/black fruits are particularly beguiling, with just the right amount of brown spices. The same fruit on the palate is so stunningly sweet it almost seems candied. Well extracted but still showing deft balance, this wine is just plain delicious to drink right now. Kunin: Wine Cask alum Seth Kunin comes up with two winners from the 2000 vintage. His 2000 Viognier is everything this exotic and spicy white should be and, with its superb acidity, will accompany food very well. The 2000 Syrah has many things going on at once, including integrated flavors of plums, cherries and tar, as well as a high toned finish. Longoria: The 1999 Lusso, Rick's Italian blend of Barbera, Nebbiolo and Dolcetto seems lightweight next to the mouth smashing Syrahs in the room, but don't be fooled. This is a genuinely food friendly wine that gains weight on the palate with plenty of blue/black fruit and a lively, refreshing finish. Makor: Round, silky and complex, Jim Adelman's 2000 Pinot Blanc is a bargain ($12) and a perfect house wine for summer drinking. It's even a better buy when you consider the expensive proposition of being 100% barrel fermented in 100% new Francois Freres oak; it's Pinot Blanc on steroids, but the fruit just soaks up the oak. The 1999 Merlot is his best yet, one that has an extracted nose of dark fruits that comes off as full bodied, lush and expansive (no veggies) on the palate. Melville: The newest star in the county, Melville's 2000 Inox Chard (Dijon clone 76) is very minerally and chablis-like; going against the grain, Greg Brewer's intent was make a Chard without any barrel contact or malolactic fermentation. It will be interesting to taste after a couple months in the bottle. The 2000 Pinot, from another Dijon clone, is equally fascinating with its soft, but richly proportioned dimensions. Very supple in the mouth, it seems refined and elegant. Melville is obviously a winery to watch. Ojai: From Adam Tolmach, the 1999 Talley-Rincon Chard is great juice, just rich with fruit and butterscotch. "Incredible" describes the 1999 Bien Nacido Pinot that shows depth, power and super ripe concentration. The 1999 Roll Ranch Syrah is all of a piece with dark flavors of blackberries, black cherries and bacon fat. Qupe: I buy the Bien Nacido Reserve Chard every year and the 1999 is one of the best with its complex fruit concentration, toasty almonds, vanilla, nutmeg and great acidity. The 1999 Bien Nacido Reserve Syrah is equally compelling with its super-sized flavors and dense core of dark fruit. For a change of pace, the 1999 Roussanne (Alban fruit, again) shows minerally, stone fruit with spicy vanilla and a long finish. Sanford: 1999 is possibly Sanford's best Pinot vintage ever. The 1999 Sanford and Benedict Barrel Select has knock-out aromatics and a well rounded, polished sweet concentration of dark fruits. The La Rinconada (first vintage from this new vineyard) is incredibly dark with sweet blackberry, plums and licorice flavors that are staggeringly intense. Tensley: Joey Tensley is the assistant winemaker at Beckmen, where he's helped produce some intense wines, but on his own, he really wants to go for the gusto. His Rhone style wines are so extracted, they're black. "Blockbuster" might be the operative term for his unthrottled winemaking style. His 2000 Thompson Vineyard Syrah is forward with ripe berry fruit, tar, bacon in your face. Jammy and plummy, its earthy flavors are on the gnarly side, but my personal experience has shown that his wines settle down and become well knit with about a year in the bottle. Wine Cask: These high quality wines, from the hand of ABC's Jim Clendenen, are so inexpensive you'll want to buy a case. The 2000 Cutting Edge White blend (Pinot Grigio, Pinot Bianco and Tocai Friulano; $12) is bone dry and crisp with nothing to get in the way of the fruit. The 2000 Super Deluxe Red blend ($8), another exotic one (Carmine and Refosco), is a jammy, succulent wine that's also perfect for summer quaffing. Finally, there's a textbook, super-ripe, 2000 Bien Nacido Pinot ($14, about half the price you'd expect for this pedigree), with sweet fruit that really rocks. April 26, 2001
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