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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 92.4 pts. and median of 93 pts. in 25 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by JonnyG on 8/9/2015 & rated 91 points: A Tour de Force Steve Clifton Tasting (Los Olivos, CA): Balanced, robust notes of white peach, smoke and muted spice, with a lengthy finish. Loads of bright acidity. (2089 views) | | | Tasted by robertek on 4/4/2015 & rated 93 points: Wow the color of this will make you think it is all oxidised yet that is completely wrong. I love this wine in perfect balance and really nice to drink as it is. (1692 views) | | | Tasted by robertek on 5/9/2013 & rated 92 points: same as last time with th difference that this cork was shredded... (2430 views) | | | Tasted by robertek on 12/23/2012 & rated 92 points: This wine is really nicely balanced and drinking excellent right now. Fruit is holding up nicely at the nose is great. No sign of the high alcohol level - just a nice wine to drink right now. (2424 views) | | | Tasted by amateurwino on 5/22/2012: Tasted double-blind. I guessed a Rivers-Marie or Rhys chardonnay based on significant oak signature, fruit with New World intensity, a touch of mineral. (2909 views) | | | Tasted by AJG on 5/4/2010 flawed bottle: Oxidized. Dead. (2400 views) | | | Tasted by DFC on 4/25/2009 & rated 93 points: Big Chard, but it still had a very nice acidity and mouthfeel to it. Sorry that this was my only bottle! No sign of the 15.9% alcohol. (2836 views) | | | Tasted by steffenpelz on 11/28/2008: Villa Dixon Degustation: Good wine. Not extremely heavy on the oak, but more oak than I typically would indulge on. The nose is very un-like any Chardonnay I've ever smelled or unlike any California white I've ever smelled. Better on the palate than the nose with some intense, dense Chardonnay fruit with a touch of honey, caramel, and a shot of minerality. (3125 views) | | | Tasted by Ali on 10/12/2008 & rated 93 points: I wasn't expecting much because of the 15.9% alcohol, by suprisingly, this is in balance and drinking well. (2380 views) | | | Tasted by buckeye76 on 9/28/2008 & rated 94 points: NICE ADCIDITY, CRISP CITRUS FRUIT WITH MELON AND PEARS IN THE NOSE AND FLAVOR. MEDIUM TO LONG FINISH. (225 views) | | | Tasted by sawira on 5/14/2008 & rated 93 points: Excellent with almond crusted tilapia, asparas, baguette with soft cheese, and homemade pesto. Crisp (for a Cal chard!), elegant, long, citrus-oriented. Hints of complexity to come. Even better in 2 or 3 years. For me, 5-6 years in bottle is prime for BC chards. (2400 views) | | | Tasted by MarkC on 3/24/2008 & rated 93 points: Really outstanding wine. Plenty of structure and acid, but loads of fruit - sweet lemon being somewhat pronounced - and honeysuckle, butter, and some minerals, along with a really nice mouthfeel. I would guess that this has some years left as well, but it was my last bottle. (2604 views) | | | Tasted by jivey on 2/26/2008 & rated 89 points: Funky cat pee, mineral, oak, rasiny-oil texture, golden straw color. Has a pepper bitter through the finish. (2424 views) | | | Tasted by jeff nowak on 9/25/2007 & rated 91 points: 15.8% alcohol!! WTF? still, pretty damn nice wine. would go up in score if the oak were tamer. delicious fruit showing orange marmalade, lemon-lime, and other citrus notes. (2824 views) | | | Tasted by dbkitc on 8/29/2007 & rated 91 points: (at BLT – Market) Golden hue with a nose of ripe pear and apple. Rich, but well balanced with great intensity. I like BC's chardonnays with a bit of age. (91) (2721 views) | | | Tasted by mattiasjansson on 8/1/2007 flawed bottle: Backstreet - Whites (Backstreet Wine Salon, Phoenix, AZ): Undrinkable - hurt my throat. (3503 views) | | | Tasted by kstoddard on 8/1/2007 flawed bottle: Phoenix eRP Offline - Whites (Backstreet Wine Salon, Phoenix): Musty with faded fruit. Bitter. Absolutely awful. (3481 views) | | | Tasted by goofy Yno on 8/1/2007 flawed bottle: sweaty socks, oaky, acidic bitter. (2659 views) | | | Tasted by KevinS on 1/20/2007 & rated 94 points: Big, bright, balanced, bold -- wonderful chardonnay, built to last another 5+ years. (3037 views) | | | Tasted by budman on 5/12/2006 & rated 93 points: Full-bodied, this wine impressed everybody at dinner tonight.
Citrus, but not too much. Complex, with a very long finish.
I wish I had more of these, but I don't. (3391 views) | | | Tasted by BradE on 4/8/2006: Dinner with Mike Woodhead (Elements - Santa Barbara): Not tasted by yours truly, but the ladies loved it. (4970 views) | | | Tasted by Siggy on 3/28/2006 & rated 94 points: Brilliant gold with a touch of amber. A beautiful, structured, Burgundian-styled Chardonnay. Loads of minerals and rich tropical fruit (pineapple and lime). Honeysuckle and candied nuts too. Opened up nicely with an hour of air. Great balance of fruit, acid, and oak. Hides its 15.9% alcohol admirably. Yum! (3398 views) |
| By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, July/August 2005, IWC Issue #121
(Brewer Clifton Chardonnay Ashley's Vineyard Sta. Rita Hills) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous. (manage subscription channels) |
| Brewer-Clifton Producer website
Addt'l Info (Jackson Family Wine Group)
Born of an obsession with Santa Barbara County terroir, we formed Brewer-Clifton in the early 1990’s. We both had significant sales and production experience with a multitude of Santa Barbara County wineries, and always felt compelled to push the limits of the fruit from the area further than our previous employers had set forth to do. We set out to put the essence of the best vineyards in the area into a bottle.
We focus our efforts solely on the production of vineyard designated Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from several carefully selected, extreme vineyards in the Sta. Rita Hills appellation. The area's long growing seasons and diversity of marine-based soils combine to produce dynamic and explosive wines with great purity and precision. Each vineyard site is nurtured identically, allowing the pedigree of place to play the most significant role in our portfolio of wines.
In addition to our collective efforts, Steve Clifton also produces wine under his own label, called Palmina, which focuses exclusively on Italian varietals, and is the winemaker at Tritono, an Argentine producer of Malbec. Greg Brewer produces wine under the diatom label, as well as being the winemaker at Melville, a Santa Rita Hills winery dedicated to estate grown Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah.
Brewer-Clifton wines are only available in small quantities. Total production averages between 4,000 and 6,500 cases annually.
Brewer-Clifton is owned and operated by Steve Clifton, a musician, and Greg Brewer, a former professor of French. The pair started Brewer-Clifton in 1995 and they source grapes from the Santa Rita Hills appellation. Brewer-Clifton makes Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and sparkling wine. The wines earn ratings in the 90s from reviewers, and Wine Advocate has noted that “Brewer and Clifton consistently deliver delicious wines that are also deeply thought provoking with regards to the potential these vineyard sites hold.”Chardonnay The Chardonnay GrapeUSAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Central Coasthttp://www.ccwinegrowers.org/links.html
http://www.discovercaliforniawines.com/regional-wine-organizations/
http://beveragetradenetwork.com/en/btn-academy/list-of-winegrowers-association-in-central-coast-california-274.htm
Central Coast AVA Wikipedia |
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