Ojai/Santa Barbara
Ojai and Santa B
Tasted Saturday, March 7, 2015 by Aravind Asok with 473 views
Introduction
Tasting at ``The Ojai Vineyard", ``Jaffurs" and ``Au Bon Climat". We were at Au Bon Climat in November, and the tasting list was completely different (apparently they change their list every 4-6 weeks). We haven't been to Jaffurs in a while.
2013 Ojai Chardonnay Bien Nacido Vineyard
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley
Cool nose with pears, white nectarine, a hint of mint and some wet stone minerality. On the palate, very bright acidity with notes of sour apple. A clean and refreshing finish that leans a bit tart.
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2013 Ojai Viognier Roll Ranch Vineyard
USA, California
Very clean and mineral driven viognier. It reminded me a lot of the chard that preceded it. The aromatics on this are very delicate (I thought it was initially just closed, but even vigorous swirling didn't make the nose more intense) and there are some very light floral and mineral notes. Very crisp acidity, and a hint of sour apple on the refreshing finish.
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2012 Ojai Pinot Noir Puerta del Mar Vineyard
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
Good earth and dark red fruit on the mineral driven nose. Surprisingly soft on the palate (I was expecting much more acid) with cranberries and darker red fruit, and a very soft tannic finish.
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2012 Ojai Pinot Noir Solomon Hills Vineyard
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley
Much more fruit forward than the Puerta del Mar Pinot Noir from the same vintage. This seems some new oak, which well integrated. On the nose, some candied red fruits, strawberries, raspberries. Good, high-toned, acidity and brighter on the palate than the Puerta del Mar. In style, this leans in the direction of Russian River Valley Pinot noir or something like Sea Smoke. Pleasant finish.
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2013 Ojai Syrah Santa Barbara County
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
The nose on this leaned in the direction of a dark Pinot with more pepper/spice and bright red fruit. Some iron-like minerality also on the nose. Good acidity, and a tartness on the finish, which didn't show any tannin. The winery described this as like St. Joseph, but it was much tart than the St. Joseph I like.
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2011 Ojai Syrah Bien Nacido Vineyard
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley
We actually got to try this twice: once out of a bottle that had been open overnight and once from a fresh (~1 hr open) bottle. I probably would not have guessed the two tastings were of the same wine if I hadn't been told We far preferred the bottle that had been open overnight, which was much more expansive on the nose with tea leaves, lots of damp earth, and a hint of bacon (but wasn't so meaty). On the palate, this had great body and good lightness with a soft finish well-delineated by the tannin. The freshly open bottle seemed much more acidic, but was still pretty good.
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2013 Ojai Viognier Ice Wine Roll Ranch Vineyard
USA, California
Great tangerine on the nose, and had enough acidity to complement the sweetness. Seemed like a nice dessert wine.
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2013 Jaffurs Viognier Bien Nacido Vineyard
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
I preferred this to the Ojai Viognier, which showed more minerality but seemed a bit too delicate for my tastes. The previous time I had a Jaffurs Viognier, it was right after a Francois Villard Condrieu, so I think it suffered by comparison, but this wine was roughly half the price of the Condrieu, so it's worth keeping that in mind. Great floral notes with white peach and some tropical fruits. On the palate, good crisp acidity with a hint of pepper and some grapefruit pith on the finish. I really enjoyed this.
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2011 Jaffurs Grenache
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
Nice Grenache aromatics with raspberry, cola, some plum and hints of brush. On the palate, this was pretty acidic and leaned a bit thin for my taste. Moreover, there was some pretty serious tannin on the finish; seemed a bit disjointed.
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2012 Jaffurs Syrah
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
Soft aromatics wtih plum, blackberry, violets and a tiny bit of olive. On the palate, serious acidty with some iron-ore characteristics and some sharpness. No notes on the finish, but this was more reminiscent of St. Joseph than the Ojai 2013 SB Syrah.
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2011 Jaffurs Syrah Verna's
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
Blueberry, kirsch, coffee on the nose. On the palate, the acidity was much calmer than the SB Syrah. This seemed altogether more focused than the previous wine and I think it would be more complex with more air time. Some tannin on the finish.
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2013 Jaffurs Petite Sirah Thompson Vineyard
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
Disclaimer: I pretty much only drink Petite Sirah when it is poured for me in tasting rooms. This was really fruit forward with an intense palate-staining purple color. The nose leaned jammy with a fair amount of vanilla. Intensely tannic on the finish. This was big, ripe and intense, but not in a way I like.
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2012 Jaffurs Late Harvest Viognier
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
The Late Harvest Viognier we had was from the Vogelzang vineyard, which I hope is this wine. Some sweet mold on the nose, with dried apricot, caramel and lots of sweetness. This leaned in the direction of being cloying and I would have preferred more acidity on the palate to balance the sweetness. Not as nice as the Viognier Icewein from the Ojai Vineyard.
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2013 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir Tsubaki Santa Barbara County
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
The bottle label is adorned with the work of artist Noboru Tsubaki who made a drawing to capture the spirit of ``Wild Yeast". Maybe this makes me feel different about the bottle. Apparently this is sold only in Japan and at the tasting room; it was unclear to me if this was precisely the same as the Santa Barbara County Pinot or not.
This was definitely a bit wild on the nose with some must and funk and a kind of musty red fruit nose. On the palate, this had great acidity and was very focused with something like candied cranberries, but it had a serious bitterness on the finish, like really intense grapefruit pith, that I didn't really enjoy.
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2010 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir Cuvée V Los Alamos Vineyard
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley
This was not listed as ``Cuvee V" at the tasting room, so I hope I'm leaving a note for the correct wine. Great soft nose of must, sandalwood; very delicately perfumed. Good acidity on the palate; this is very focused and pure with cranberries, raspberries and slightly underrripe strawberreis; great high-toned acidity. The finish leans tart and is somewhat clipped.
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2006 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir Elke Vineyard
USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
Much more secondary on the nose than previous bottles. Good dry earthy notes, some barnyard, and a touch of alcohol, tea leaves and darker red fruit. On the palate, slightly one-dimensional and a bit out of balance with maybe a bit too much acidity and a hint of bitterness. Maybe this wasn't a great bottle, but this wasn't one of my favorites.
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2008 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir Nielson Vineyard
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Maria Valley
Nice nose with a musky, perfumed nose with hints of ripe melon and strawberries. Good acidity; this is a bit richer than previous bottles and has a hint of structure on the finish.
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2010 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir Talley Vineyard
USA, California, Central Coast, Arroyo Grande Valley
Some oak spice on the nose with lots of bright red fruit. On the palate, this was the richest of the ABC wines we tasted; on the palate, it was similar in some ways to the 2012 Ojai Solomon Hills Vineyard, but this is not nearly as fruit forward. Good acidity, which is a bit softer than the previous wines (though still serious), and great white pepper on the finish.
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