PINOT NOIR

Great value! A particularly wonderful vintage of this wine. Aromas and flavors of strawberries and raspberries are joined by anise and clove notes with mouth filling intensity.

Clark and Telephone Vineyard, located near the corner of Clark Avenue and Telephone Road in the Santa Maria Valley, is cooled by wind and fog that snakes in from the Pacific Ocean along a channel of the Santa Maria River. Established in 1972, the Clark and Telephone Vineyard was planted "own root" to the Martini clone. This heirloom clone of Pinot Noir, one of the first to grace the California coastlands, has become something of a lost treasure.

In the winery, the clusters were de-stemmed and the must underwent a cold soak. Fermentation began with the inoculation of yeast strains matched to each lot of grapes. The maceration process during fermentation consisted of a combination of punch-down and pump-over techniques, each day the techniques would be reassessed to ensure that we were riding the line between over extraction and under extraction. The wine was aged in French oak (60% percent new) for nine months and was racked once upon completion of malolactic fermentation and again upon blending.

Scarlet in color; bursting with aromas of cinnamon, caramel and hints of ginger-spiced tea. On the palate, the plush weight coats the mouth with more brown spice and sweet oak flavors, layered into the deep blueberry and strawberry base. The viscosity paired with the flavors and lively acidity lead into a long finish with supple tannins.

Julia's Vineyard, named for Julia Jackson in 1988, consists of ancient soils with fossilized seashells, shale, limestone and sand, with fog-swept vines that have endured since the 1970s. This unique piece of land thrives in the cool, maritime influences that funnel in from the Pacific Ocean, allowing for the longest growing season in the state.

ANTONIO GALLONI 90 POINTS - "The 2016 Pinot Noir Julia's Vineyard is a terrific entry-level offering from Cambria. Gracious, perfumed and silky, with lovely aromatic top notes and lively fruit, the 2016 has a lot to offer. Sweet red cherry, crushed flowers and earthy notes develop nicely in a wine that offers terrific quality for the money."

ANTONIO GALLONI 92 POINTS - "The 2017 Pinot Noir (Santa Barbara County) is bright, lifted and absolutely delicious. Sweet floral notes and bright, red toned fruit give this gracious, ethereal Pinot tons of class. This is an impeccable wine in its peer group. Deovlet's appellation wines are often overachievers, as is very much the case here."

Dierberg has been on a roll the past few years! Other wineries have sourced fruit from this prominent vineyard and received high scores for their superbly crafted wines. Dierberg still sells much of their fruit, but they have begun to keep some of the better sections for themselves. That being said, their own label hasn't skipped a beat, and is receiving the same high scores as their customers!

Located 13 miles from the Pacific Ocean in one of the coolest wine-growing corners of California's Central Coast, Dierberg Vineyard is on the western edge of Santa Barbara County's Santa Maria Valley appellation, which is world-renowned for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Their vineyard is planted to newer "Dijon" clones, as well as other "heritage clones"; heritage clones whose roots go back to the Burgundy area of France, offering a clonal diversity unlike almost any other Pinot vineyard in California.

JEB DUNNUCK 93 POINTS - "Moving to the reds, the 2016 Pinot Noir Dierberg Vineyard comes from the estate vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley and was 75% destemmed and aged 10 months in 25% new French oak. Ruby/purple-hued, with notes of raspberries, Asian spice, forest floor, and crushed flowers, it's medium-bodied and has a rounded, elegant texture, beautiful purity, and a great finish. It's a clean, classy, impeccably put together Pinot Noir to drink over the coming 7-8 years."

ROBERT PARKER'S WINE ADVOCATE 93 POINTS - "The 2016 Pinot Noir Dierberg Vineyard aged 14 months in 35% new French oak. It's medium ruby with wonderful, layered perfume: dried rose petals, crushed herbs, woodsmoke, cranberry sauce, warm earth, red cherry preserves and hints of raspberries and orange peel. Light to medium-bodied, it offers delicate, layered intensity, a sturdy frame of grainy tannins and seamlessly woven acidity, finishing very long. Lovely! 1,700 cases produced."

ANTONIO GALLONI 92 POINTS - "The 2016 Pinot Noir Dierberg Vineyard is plush and inviting, with soft curves and plenty of immediacy. Dark red/purplish berry fruit, lavender, spice and rose petal all meld together in this attractive, fruity Pinot. Supple and forward, the 2016 will drink well pretty much upon release. The 25% whole clusters are not especially evident, at least not today."

JEB DUNNUCK 94 POINTS - "The more translucent, ruby-colored 2017 Pinot Noir Julia's Vineyard comes from a vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley and was all destemmed before spending 16 months in 44% new French oak. Classic raspberry, forest floor, sweet spice, and sappy floral notes all flow to a medium-bodied, vibrant, incredibly classy effort. It's balanced, has integrated acidity, and a great finish. It's another terrific Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara County that's going to evolve for at least a decade."

Bill Wathen and Dick Dore have been making wine together since 1985, when they founded Foxen Winery and Vineyard at the historic Rancho Tinaquaic in northern Santa Barbara County. Since that time, their dedication has remained the same - the creation of very small production, sustainably-farmed, vineyard-focused wines using a "minimalist" approach to winemaking. Foxen is named in memory of William Benjamin Foxen, an English sea captain and Dick's great-great grandfather, who came to Santa Barbara in the early 1800s and purchased the Rancho Tinaquaic. Captain Foxen adopted the distinctive "anchor" as his cattle brand, which became the trademark of the winery. Foxen is at home on the history Rancho Tinaquaic with its solar-powered winery, tasting room and 7200 "shack."

JEB DUNNUCK 91 POINTS - "I loved the nose of the 2017 Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley. It just screams Pinot Noir with its spiced cherry, raspberry, white pepper, and sappy herb aromas and flavors. Medium-bodied, nicely textured, fresh, and lively on the palate, it's a smoking little Calif Pinot Noir well worth checking out. This cuvee was just 25% destemmed and spent 9 months in used French oak. There are 3,500 cases produced."

For the winery's top-of-the-line bottling, the best barrels are blended from the best vineyards. The goal is to achieve balance and complexity in a graceful and elegant, yet compelling and complete expression of Pinot Noir from the region."HIGHLINER" is a barrel selection (70% new French oak) of maritime-cooled vineyards in Santa Barbara County, combining the forward fruit and richness of the Santa Maria Valley, with the earthiness and structure of fruit from the Sta. Rita Hills. The blend of vineyards can change with each vintage depending on which ones produce the best of the best for that particular growing season.

JEB DUNNUCK 90-92 POINTS - "Coming from a handful of sites in Santa Barbara County and still aging in used barrels, the 2018 Pinot Noir Santa Barbara County sports a deep ruby/plum color as well as notes of candied cherries, violets, Asian spices, and underbrush. It's another rounded, polished, incredibly attractive wine from Loring that has plenty of fruit and texture, good complexity, and a balanced, approachable style."

JEB DUNNUCK 92+ POINTS - "Another beauty is the 2015 Pinot Noir Solomon Hills, and is sees just a touch of whole cluster (15%) and is brought up mostly in neutral barrel. It's lighter ruby color is followed by a darker fruited, earth, damp earthy quality that I love. It's not a big wine, but it has plenty of tension, fine tannin and lots of saltiness that comes out with time in the glass."

The grapes for this Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir hail from three vineyards, all influenced by the cooling fog of the nearby Pacific and perfectly suited for growing Pinot Noir. Upon delivery to the winery early in the morning, the grapes were de-stemmed and placed into small 1-ton bins, where they were punched down by hand 2-3 times each day. The resulting wine was transferred into French oak barrels, of which 31% were new, and aged for 11 months. It was then bottled unfiltered, given a few months of bottle aging to allow the flavors to integrate, and released in Winter 2019.

JEB DUNNUCK 90 POINTS - "Moving to the reds, the value-priced 2017 Pinot Noir (100% Pinot Noir aged 11 months in 31% new French oak) offers a medium ruby color as well as a pretty perfume of mulled cherry and raspberry fruits, spice, potpourri, and underbrush. It's medium-bodied, with a silky texture, beautiful balance, and a great finish. Drink it over the coming 4-5 years."

ANTONIO GALLONI 96 POINTS - "The 2018 Pinot Noir Dierberg Vineyard Block 5 is a total knockout. Dark blue/purplish fruit, lavender, spice, menthol and sage give the 2018 so many shades of nuance. A dark, somber expression of Pinot comes through loud and clear. Wild, deep, exotic, the 2018 is truly spectacular. All it needs is more time in bottle."