Last night I attended the SB Wine Futures hosted by Elements in the SB Courthouse. The event was very well done. About 30 wineries were there and there was plenty of good food although there were not any knives to cut your meet so that was a little awkward trying to eat a chuck of meat without cutting it in a nice outfit. Anyway here are the winners from the evening in my opinion.
Arcadian 2006 Sleepy Hollow Pinot Noir – This Pinot is from Santa Lucia Hills from the oldest vines in the Arcadian Portfolio. This wine was so smooth and the flavors exploded in your mouth. Futures price is $45 and will retail around $56. It will be release next spring.
They also poured a 2006 Pisoni Pinot, 2006 Dierberg Chardonnay, and 2006 Purisima Syrah all which were quiet tasty.
Beckman has done it again. They poured their 2005 Purisima Mountain Vineyard Grenache Syrah which is a 60/40 Grenache/Syrah blend. It has a texture, density and layer after layer of cocoa, raspberry, cherry, blackberry, smoke and pepper as quoted from the description. This wine is delicious. They only made 300 cases. The futures price is $65 and will retail for $75.
Cambria poured 3 wines. Clone2A; Clone 667; and Clone23. The first 2 are Pinots and the last one is a big fat 15.6% alcohol Syrah. These were wonderful and will all be released this fall. Futures price is $53 and retail was not given.
Star Lane Cabernet Sav. “Astral”. I have tasted and written about this before but it was fun to taste again and once again it was superb. It will be released this summer however the price tag is a little pricey selling at $100 a bottle. This is one you will want to buy and lay down for that special occasion in years to come or have once it is released with a nice juicy steak.
Drew poured their 2007 Syrah, Broken Leg Vineyard which was really good. They plan to release next spring and sell for $35. A nice wine for the price. They also poured their 2007 Fog-eater Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley and the 2007 Gatekeeper Pinot Noir, Rio Vista Vineyard Santa Rita Hills. Both were very good. The fog-eater will be released next spring and the gatekeeper this fall. Both will sale for $42 a bottle.
Flying Goat’s 2007 Pinot Noir, Salisbury Vineyard, San Luis Obispo County was really nice. Unfortunately it will not be available until next summer and will retail at $38.
IO is a relatively newcomer. They poured 3 wines. The 2005 Rhone Blend, SBC was ok; the 2005 Ryan Road, Paso Robles was really good. This one will be released this summer. They only made $250 cases and was selling for $47. Their best was their 2005 Upper Bench, Santa Maria Valley. This also will be released in small quantities this summer selling for $47.
Kenneth-Crawford poured 3 but my favorite was their 2006 Syrah Turner Vineyard, Sta, Rita Hills. This is very spicey and had great flavor. This most likely is only available through the futures program as they only made 76 cases selling for $40 a bottle.
Margerum poured 3, all which were good but his best was his 2006 Grenache. This is delicious and one of the best Grenache’s that I have had in a long time. It will be released this summer retailing at $36 a bottle.
Qupe’s 2006 Rousanne Bien Nacido Hillside Estate is excellent. It will be released this fall and retail for $40.
Tantara poured two delicious wines. 2006 Syrah, Bien Nacido Vineyard, Santa Maria Valley and a 2006 Syrah, Gary’s Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands. Both were selling at $45 a bottle.
Lastly Tecero poured 4 very good wines. Cuvee Christie that was very big and fruity. This will retail for $28 and be released this summer. “The Climb” was yummy and is 50/50 Syrah, Thompson Vineyard and Petite Syrah Rodney’s Vineyard. This will retail for $30 and be available this summer. He also poured a Grenache Blance and Larner Syrah that are reasonably priced and tasted great.
This event was well done and not too crowded. The pours were generous and the wine makers were there to discuss their wine. I enjoyed this event a lot.
Laura