Dear Friends,
Sorry about the one month's silence. Mary was away in France and I was abducted by aliens. Just kidding (you hope!) So let us resume with one of my favorite American wineries, Au Bon Climat, and its magnificent Chardonnay made from Santa Barbara’s finest vineyard for the famous grape, Sanford & Benedict.
Jim Clendenen, the “mind behind” (as he describes himself) Au Bon Climat (“the good vineyard location” en Anglais), is one of the great figures in American winemaking. Jim started way back in the early 1980s in Santa Barbara when wineries from that region could be counted on the fingers of two hands. Clendenen is a true Francophile who has worked in Burgundy and possesses a major cellar of Burgundies. He has always had a way with Burgundy's two grapes, managing to retain
the complex acidity essential to Pinot and Chardonnay and the mineral character of the vineyards from which he has chosen to purchase grapes. Jim was in New York last fall and brought with him some older Pinots and Chardonnays going back to the early 1990s. They showed wonderful life and elegance along with the mellow, earthy flavors that come with proper aging. No surprise to those of us who know him and his wines.
Of the newer wines, the 2008 Sanford & Benedict Chardonnay was particularly memorable. Jim told me that he regards this as the best Chardonnay site in America, not just Santa Barbara. The vineyard is in the heart of a 100-square-mile region in the Santa Rita hills whose location is ideal both for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The dual influence of fog from the Pacific Ocean and the hard, gravelly soil of the S&B vineyard translates into wines which are both intense and restrained--just what we want from Pinot and Chardonnay at their best. Jim Clendenen has been purchasing grapes from the vineyard since the late 1980s. I was immediately struck by a sense of opulence in the
wine, with a commandingly floral bouquet marked by citrus overtones. Past the opulent entry, all that stony minerality holds the fruit in place. Like a fine white Burgundy, the wine seamlessly synthesizes the polarities of dense fruit and acid-infused liquid stoniness. The ability of a fine wine to unite seemingly contrary sensory qualities is what we wine lovers seek. I could take a bottle of the S&B Chardonnay to Burgundy and bring smiles of approval to the faces of growers who recognize excellence in Chardonnay. At one-third the price of 1er Cru White Burgundies, the wine is a veritable bargain.
Bob Millman
2008 Au Bon Climat Chardonnay Sanford & Benedict Vineyard
P.S. There are also some half-bottles available.

Recent Comments