My girlfriend Erika persuaded me to do something fun for my birthday. Being low on funds, and not a birthday oriented person to begin with, I kinda figured I'd just skip out on the whole celebration thing. In fact, I think when originally asked what my b-day plans were, I said, I was thinking about getting a haircut.
Instead though, persuaded by my lovely lady, I got in touch with two of my favorite winemakers up in Santa Barbara County and did a little tasting. In the past, I've done the whole ATTACK method of wine tasting and bombed through tasting room after tasting room trying to fit in as much tasting as possible. This time though, I took my time, and only hit one winery a day, can you believe it? Just one!
It was great though, I really got the time to hang out with these guys, shoot the shit, and get a real feeling for what they are doing beyond the usual "Attention to detail, respect for the land" story every tasting room employee reads off of a glossy, laminated placard kept behind the bar. I got to hang with the artists themselves and sample from the barrels. We got to see where they've been and hear where they're going, and both teams have some really great treats lined up for the future...
It's funny because I really dig on what both Loring and Native 9 are doing, yet they're quite possibly complete polar opposites in methodology; yet here's the coolest part, Brian makes a Rancho Ontiveros Pinot so you can compare apples to apples, even though Brian's apple doesn't quite behave according to Newtonian physics!
Anyhow, we started off by meeting Brian Loring at his brand spanking new facility in Lompoc. Brian is an ex-computer programing guru, who has an utterly pristine laboratory type space, with a winemaker's dream for a barrel room. He has just one row of barrels on the floor so he can access any barrel at anytime, without the slightest effort. (Most barrel rooms have barrels stacked anywhere from four to eight rows high, requiring, climbing, forklifts, acrobatics, and one hell of a game of Tetris.) For a visual comparison, look at Brian's Barrels up top, compared to Paul and James's down on the bottom. Brian's got an envious floor plan, it's like the equivalent of an NYC girl with a walk in closet (sorry to emasculate you, Brian)
Brian is a maverick, he's had a vision and stuck to it. He used synthetic corks back in '03, (when I first came across his juice at Jeanne's Wainscott Wines in the Hamptons) and then switched to screwcap in 04. I remember pushing his Pinot to Hamptonites who would scratch their heads at the screw caps, but once they'd actually tasted the wines, (and Jeanne had no problem cracking a bottle to shut someone up), they'd be sold. His stuff is big, bold, juicy, drip down your chin, JUICE. It makes no apologies, and neither does Brian. He tasted us on a Chardonnay he makes, (Ha Ha, not yet available to the general public! Jealous?) and laughingly mused, I know everybody's all steel tanked, chablis style, crisp clean, unoaked, trending these days, but I like my big, luscious, oaked, round ones, so that's what I make. And he makes what he loves, and it's obvious. He is a guy having too much fun, and loving it all the way. We spent hours with him wandering through the barrels as he'd say, "huh, I wanna see where the Shea is right now. Let's check in on the Durrel 'cause I've got one new oak and one one year barrel. I wanna see how that Keefer is doing..." Brian does 14 different vineyards of Pinot Noir, yet he doesn't grow any, it's all purchased fruit from some of the best sources around, including: Rancho Ontiveros, where we get Native 9. Brian has been blowing up lately, getting great scores (If that kind of thing matters to you) which, personally, it doesn't to me, but I know it translates to sales for hardworking winemakers like Brian, who deserve it. Wanna buy his wine? Go here
Day 2, Native 9! I've gotta cool down about these guys, or people are gonna think I'm getting kickbacks. But fuck it, I'm going on record, James Ontiveros and Paul Wilkins are making the Grand Cru of Santa Maria. Paul Wilkins, formerly of Alban Vineyards met us at the facility, (On his birthday, I found out later, Happy Birthday Paul!, us Aquarians are a special lot) and took me to the Vineyard where we met James Ontiveros. We got to hang out on the plot, look around, and talk shop. I won't bore you with all the clonal variety (8, count 'em 8) soil type, terroir and the like, but I will share a little tidbit I find interesting. I won't even begin to pretend I know the first thing about farming, but I have spent just enough time walking rows and pulling cane to know a quick cheaters note for looking at a vineyard, and in the rows at Rancho Ontiveros, they've got daffodills, dandelions, and more than a few other varieties of harmless weeds peeking up, as well as an owl house or two looming above to help uninvasively deal with rodents. What all this points towards, and we spoke of, is that these guys are going to go for certified organic. Not 'cause it's cool, not 'cause it sells, but because they think it's the right thing to do, for the land, and for the wine. What those little harmless weeds'll tell you, is that, the farmers aren't throwing down all sorts of vile "Round up" style weed killer, and they're not showering their grapes with ugly stuff that drips down and kills off everything under it. I'm even tempted to get into all the geeky talk about the rarely used 1A clone they've got on the property, but I'll leave that for another day.
Here's a shot of Paul, lovingly pulling us barrel samples to check out. A huge part of the difference between the two Wineries: Brian as a winemaker, but not farmer, has 14 different vineyards of Pinot available, and even more, of secret new projects that I may not be able to spill about yet, BUT ARE FUCKING AWESOME. Paul and James, by contrast, have, in addition to their Alta Maria project, 8 different clonal expressions, all from the same vineyard!
So with Brian, a two step walk to another barrel might represent a 500 mile departure by vineyard. With Paul and James, a different barrel might be a 5 foot departure to a different row. It's so amazing to really taste the differences taking place from clone, vineyard, barrel, vintage, and winemaker. All steps that create the finished product.
Paul is also doing a really kick ass job of Rhone varietals with the Alta Maria project, which has a stunning Pinot Noir too. His Grenache is a cool climate Grenache that has a new spin on old world grenache. It's not the overwrought syrupy style, and it brings, (as do, frankly, all his efforts) a beautiful complexity, that makes you lean into the glass to chase it. His Syrah, and this is meant in no way to be a backhanded compliment, cause I dig it, but it's gonna catch critical acclaim. It's a big, dark, beauty, with much more to give. The usual group of critics, if they get their hands on it, will love it for all the silly reasons, but it's got so much more to love. I don't know how it'll be released yet, but if you're not already on it, you should get yourselves on Alta Maria and Native 9's lists now. Do it. Do it now, or be thirsty later.
No comments:
Post a Comment