Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
#226 August 2016
I always love my visits with Ojai’s Adam Tolmack and Fabien Castel, and it’s always an educational and enlightening tasting as I’m able to taste through a multitude of different sites spread throughout Santa Barbara County. In addition, the Special Bottling releases based on different harvesting dates add even another variable into the equation. While I certainly believe they’ve pushed too far into the early harvesting movement, with an overriding focus on freshness and acidity, the wines nevertheless always possess interesting, balanced profiles and are a joy to drink.
2013 Syrah Solomon Hills Special Bottling
Coming from one of my favorite vineyards in Santa Maria, the 2013 Syrah Solomon Hills Special Bottling is an elegant, perfumed and layered Syrah that has classic northern Rhone-like aromas and flavors of black raspberries, dried spices, lavender, green olive and hints of game. Seamless, pure, graceful and ethereally textured, it offers medium-bodied richness, bright acidity and a great finish. While it’s not a blockbuster, it shines for its incredible purity, class and elegance.
94 Jeb Dunnuck
2014 Pinot Noir Kessler-Haak
A new site for this estate that’s located just beside Clos Pepe, in the Sta. Rita Hills, the 2014 Pinot Noir Kessler Haak Vineyard saw 50% stems and 20% new oak. It offers lots of bright, high toned fruit, pepper and smoky aromatics to go with a fresh, tight, yet seamless style on the palate. It really stretches out on the finish and is a classy Pinot Noir. Drink it anytime over the coming 7-8 years.
93 Jeb Dunnuck
2014 Chardonnay Solomon Hills
A bigger, richer wine is the 2014 Chardonnay Solomon Hills, which comes from a terrific site in the Santa Maria Valley, just to the southwest of Bien Nacido. It offers ample apple, brioche, flowers and spice characteristics with a beautiful saline quality on the finish. Medium to full-bodied, layered and perfectly balanced, enjoy this classic Santa Barbara County Chardonnay over the coming 5-7 years.
93 Jeb Dunnuck
2013 Syrah White Hawk
A beautiful wine that shows the classic floral characteristic of the vineyard, the 2013 Syrah White Hawk Vineyard offers a cool climate-like personality with its blue fruits, violets, spring flowers, pepper and raspberry aromatics. Medium-bodied, elegant, juicy and lively, with impeccable balance and mid-weight depth, it’s already drinking nicely, yet will evolve for a decade.
92 Jeb Dunnuck
2014 Pinot Noir Puerta del Mar
The 2014 Pinot Noir Puerta del Mar offers classic Cali fruit in its sweet cherry, rose petal, framboise and spice-driven bouquet. Elegant, seamless and layered, I love this beauty and would happily drink bottles over the coming 4-5 years, and I wouldn’t be surprise to see it evolve for longer either.
92 Jeb Dunnuck
2014 Pinot Noir Bien Nacido
The 2014 Pinot Noir Bien Nacido Vineyard is always mostly destemmed and it spent 15 months in 25% new French oak. It shows the classic, masculine character of the site in its pepper, crushed rock, black cherry, smoke and forest floor aromas and flavors. This beauty hits the palate with surprising elegance and purity. Fresh, medium-bodied, lightly textured and silky, it’s another outstanding Pinot Noir that will see its 10th birthday in fine form.
92 Jeb Dunnuck
2014 Chardonnay Puerta del Mar
From a vineyard recently purchased by Jonata, the 2014 Chardonnay Puerta del Mar is another classy Chardonnay that offers exotic notes of green citrus, mint and flowers in its pretty, elegant and lightly textured personality. I don’t think it will be the longest lived release, but it’s certainly impressive today.
92 Jeb Dunnuck
2013 Syrah Roll Ranch
A pretty, charming and approachable example of this cuvee, the 2013 Syrah Roll Ranch offers a perfumed bouquet of black raspberries, ripe cherries, spring flowers and hints of sappy herbs in a medium-bodied, elegant and silky package that goes down far too easily. It’s already hard to resist, but should be at its best from 2018-2025.
91 Jeb Dunnuck
2014 Syrah John Sebastiano
Coming from a terrific site and vines planted just outside of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA (the Pinot Noir in this site is part of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA), the 2014 Syrah John Sebastiano Vineyard was mostly destemmed and spent 15 months in 10-15% new French oak. Reminding me of a St. Joseph from France’s Rhone valley, it offers loads of red and black fruits, violets, pepper and salted meat in a medium-bodied, fresh and lively style that’s already hard to resist.
91 Jeb Dunnuck
2014 Pinot Noir Kick On Ranch
A very pretty, elegant example of this cuvee, the 2014 Pinot Noir Kick On Ranch offers notes of black cherries, lots of minerality, spring flowers and exotic spices in its medium-bodied, fresh, lightly textured and beautifully pure personality. There’s a sappy greenness here, but it handles it nicely and this elegant, silky red will drink nicely for 4-5 years.
91 Jeb Dunnuck
2014 Barbera Rich
I loved the 2014 Barbera Rich Vineyard, which is from a site located near Roll Ranch Vineyard. Its vibrant purple color is followed by forward, juicy, medium-bodied aromas and flavors of black cherries, violets, plum and flowers. It has racy acidity, yet it works beautifully in this deliciously quaffable, fruity effort ideal for drinking over the coming couple of years.
91 Jeb Dunnuck
2014 Chardonnay Bien Nacido
A medium-bodied, juicy and elegant white from the team at Ojai, the 2014 Chardonnay Bien Nacido Vineyard offers masculine notes of mulled apples, salty minerality, citrus and mint. It will drink nicely for at least 5-6 years.
91 Jeb Dunnuck
2015 Riesling Kick On Ranch
The 2015 Riesling Kick On Ranch is a beauty that offers classic aromas and flavors of citrus blossom, mint and lychee in an elegant, textured package. It will be incredibly versatile on the dinner table.
91 Jeb Dunnuck
2014 Syrah Duvarita
From a site formerly known as Presidio, the 2014 Syrah Duvarita Vineyard is an elegant, lively and juicy effort that gives up loads of blue fruits, cracked pepper and floral notes in a medium-bodied, elegant and slightly fleeting profile. Like the 2013, it gains depth and richness with time in the glass, has bright acidity and a clean finish. It should drink nicely for 4-6 years.
90 Jeb Dunnuck
2014 Grenache John Sebastiano
Possibly one of my favorite vintages of this cuvee from Adam, the 2014 Grenache John Sebastiano Vineyard (100% Grenache aged 15 months in neutral oak) offers upfront, layered, ripe notes of framboise, Bing cherry and flowers in a medium-bodied, rounded and generous style that has more texture and richness than previous vintages. Drink it over the coming 4-6 years.
90 Jeb Dunnuck
2014 Pinot Noir Fe Ciega
The 2014 Pinot Noir Fe Ciega is an earthy, spicy and forest floor-scented effort that offers medium-bodied richness, supple texture and an herbal, slightly funky edge that won’t be for everyone. Nevertheless, it’s nicely balanced, has a core of sweet fruit and a good finish.
89 Jeb Dunnuck
2014 Syrah Santa Barbara
Possessing lots of cool climate characteristics in its peppery, blackberry, violets and mineral-laced aromas and flavors, the 2014 Syrah Santa Barbara is fresh, elegant and medium-bodied on the palate, with nicely integrated acidity and fine tannin. It’s a classy, easy drinking Syrah that has real character.
89 Jeb Dunnuck
2014 Roussanne Bien Nacido
The 2014 Roussanne Bien Nacido is beautiful and shines for its purity of fruit. Loaded with notions of citrus blossom, stone fruits and distinct minerality, it’s medium-bodied, tight, fresh and focused on the palate. This is a terrific Roussanne that should age gracefully.
89 Jeb Dunnuck
2014 Pinot Noir Santa Barbara County
The classic Santa Barbara County Appellation release is the 2014 Pinot Noir, which has a supple, fleeting, yet charming feel in its cranberry, forest floor, cherry and spice-driven aromas and flavors. Bottled early, after 11 months in barrel, it will drink nicely for 4-5 years.
88 Jeb Dunnuck
2014 Sangiovese White Hawk
The medium ruby colored 2014 Sangiovese White Hawk offers a dark fruit, smoked earth, peppery and herbal style to go with medium body, fine tannin and bright acidity. It’s a solid, balanced red to enjoy over the coming 4-6 years.
88 Jeb Dunnuck
2014 Viognier Roll Ranch
While a rock solid white with its clean, crisp notes of peach, citrus and mint, the 2014 Viognier Roll Ranch lacks any true Viognier character. Nevertheless, it’s a high quality, classy white to drink over the coming couple of years.
88 Jeb Dunnuck
2014 Pinot Noir la Cote
The second vintage for this cuvee, the 2014 Pinot Noir la Cote was harvested in mid-August and has a distinct marine-influenced bouquet of salty sea breeze, mushrooms and red currants. Soft, medium-bodied and low in acidity, there’s some charm here, but it’s certainly the most bizarre wine in the lineup, and I admit to struggling to wrap my head around it. I would give bottles a year or two in the cellar and see where they’re headed.
87? Jeb Dunnuck