In the footsteps of Miles and Jack

[jal]

Well, not exactly.
Jill and I are in Lompoc, CA on the great American road trip. This is where the movie Sideways takes place more or less. So yesterday we visited Sanford winery where Miles yelled at Jack not to chew gum while tasting.
The setting is beautiful, tables outside near rows of vines and we are tasting five wines but the pourer adds another couple of bottles. Impressions are quick as I have little patience for writing TNs these days
2016 Sanford and Benedict Pinot Noir. The cheapest ($80 ) and my favorite Pinot, doesn’t claim to be anything else than a fruity easy going California wine with crunchy fruit and lively acidity 90
2018 Sanford La Rinconada Pinot Noir. Young, tannic, harsh. Didn’t like this 88
2017 Dominio del Falcon Pinot Noir. More structure but pretentious with harsh tannins. 89
2020 Sanford Rose. Lively acidity, good fruit. We liked and bought 2 bottles but I wonder whether it will be as good in a less gorgeous setting
2018 La Rinconada Chardonnay, lots of VA, no complexity or minerality but Jill likes its bright fruit so we bought a bottle. 86 for me
2015 Founders Vine Chardonnay. More complex, not too oaky, good acidity. I like that. 88 Got 2 bottles
2018 Sanford Chardonnay, nice with good fruit and decent acidity, sort of a mediocre Bourgogne 87

Today off to Domaine de la Cote
More impressions later

[JimHow]

Send pictures... And don't drink the fucking merlot!

And welcome back to the USA, glad to hear you are safe and well!

[Nicklasss]

I'm looking forward your comment about 1947 Cheval Blanc in styrofoam glasses.

[JimHow]

'61.

[jal]

No, the burger place in Oxnard is closed because of COVID so even if I had a 1961 Cheval Blanc and a styrofoam cup, it would have been a miss.

Instead yesterday we went to the Hitching Post II where we had an excellent sirloin, mediocre overcooked quail and a bottle of 2016 Sanford and Benedict HP Pinot. Same grapes as the wines we tasted at the winery but made by the winemaker of Hitching Post, it sells for $62 at the restaurant but is harsher and less fruity than its “brother from another father“, still pretty good with the steak. As for the quail, nothing could have saved it. 89

So far the wines we had are fruity without being ott extracted and syrupy. They go well with food even if they lack the complexity, earthiness and sense of place of good Burgundies in the same price range.

[stefan]

Nice to be able to travel again, yes? Too bad you have to drink a lot of mediocre CA wine. Maybe it tastes better while chewing gum.

[jal]

Very nice to travel again and the area is stunningly beautiful. If Santa Barbara is the equivalent of the French Riviera then the Santa Rita Hills and actually the whole county is very similar to Provence and the Southern Rhone, except that the roads are worse, and the restaurants more expensive.

Yesterday, we visited Domaine de la Cote, a winery that has been getting rave reviews from Gilman and Galloni and I was curious to taste the wines. We first got a tour of the vineyards located a short drive away from the winery, the setting is gorgeous and even in a beautifully sunny hot day in Lompoc, the wind from the Pacific was chilly.

We then proceeded to the industrial area to taste the 2020 wines from barrel and they are all very aromatic, well balanced, compex with good fruit and structure. These could well be the best American Pinot Noir I've ever had, all are at a decent alcohol between 12.5-13%, and the style is a combination of the best of Burgundy and the US.
If I had to note differences, the Memorious is a bit more fruit forward, the Bloom's Field a bit more savory and herbal, and the Estate wine a little less complex. We also tasted a sample from the tiny production of Sous Le Chêne and this was much more serious and complex but needs a long time.

To end, we joined the mailing list and purchased a mixed case of the Memorious, the Bloom's Field and the DDLC Estate.

We will probably not visit any more wineries this trip, if I post it will be of wines in a restaurant.

[stefan]

>>
These could well be the best American Pinot Noir I've ever had
>>

Strong statement! I would like to try some Domaine de la Cote.

[Blanquito]

Great stuff, Jacques. Along with chewing gum and some merlot, I fully expected a tasting note from Miles’ favorite dump bucket!

I squeezed in a visit myself to a Californian winery last week after a hike in a majestic old growth redwood forest in Mendocino, at Ridge Lytton Springs while in Sonoma with the family (for a non-wine related vacation). A spectacular day in one of my favorite corners of the planet. For social distancing, they’re having everyone sit on the veranda overlooking the 111 year-old vines, which is fine by me! I tried the 19 Estate Chardonnay, the 19 Geyserville, the 18 Lytton Springs, the 18 Estate Cabernet, the 18 Klein Cabernet, and the server blinded me with a pour of the 13 Geyserville as well which was terrific as always and drinking great. Of the young wines, the Klein was easily the best (if you see it for $70 or less, it’s a definite buy), and the 19 Geezer (which was aromatic and pretty but lacked the normal intensity one expects from this vineyard) made me want to buy more of the 18.

[AKR]

Very nice pictures and comments. It should be much cooler down there than up here in the central valley.

[Blanquito]

>>
These could well be the best American Pinot Noir I've ever had
>>

Strong statement! I would like to try some Domaine de la Cote.

I will accommodate!

Friday night (or Saturday lunch) sub-theme, great American Pinot Noir? I can bring a recently acquired bottle of the Vincent Zenith.

[DavidG]

Great report, Jacques.

Is Domaine de la Cote the Raj Parr thing?

And did anyone drink out of the dump bucket?

[jal]

>>
These could well be the best American Pinot Noir I've ever had
>>

Strong statement! I would like to try some Domaine de la Cote.

That can be arranged

[Claret]

The steaks at Hitching Post are very good.

I wonder if the terroir in that part of California is best suited for Rhone varietals?

[jal]

Friday night (or Saturday lunch) sub-theme, great American Pinot Noir? I can bring a recently acquired bottle of the Vincent Zenith.

That sounds good to me!

[jal]

Great report, Jacques.

Is Domaine de la Cote the Raj Parr thing?

And did anyone drink out of the dump bucket?

It is, David, though I had never heard of him before

And we did not drink the dump bucket. I think we could have bottled it though

[jal]

The steaks at Hitching Post are very good.

I wonder if the terroir in that part of California is best suited for Rhone varietals?

I thought the same thing Glenn.

[DavidG]

Great report, Jacques.

Is Domaine de la Cote the Raj Parr thing?

And did anyone drink out of the dump bucket?

It is, David, though i had never heard of him before

And we did not drink the dump bucket. I think we could have bottled it though

Next time I see you remind me to tell you about my dinner with Raj, Martine Saunier, and one of the Southern W&S execs. Though details are a bit fuzzy due to quantities of wine and time.

[jal]

Two restaurants yesterday
Bell's in Los Alamos, high end French bistro for lunch is highly recommended. Dining reservations are difficult to get but lunch was delightful in an outdoor garden. We had excellent salads and an espresso worthy of any cafe in Italy. No wine
Los Olivos Cafe where Miles told Jack he's not drinking fucking Merlot. Well, neither did we, but we wanted a red burgundy to see how it would show after all the California Pinot. We picked a 2014 Amiot Morey St Denis that was earthy, weedy, decent fruit with good balance but couldn't even get close to the Domaine de la Cote gems we had tasted before. The food was good, the setting as in every place here is lovely. The town itself is charming but everything closed down by 7:30pm.

[jckba]

Yikes just Wine-Searcher-ed the Domaine de la Cote offerings and they are not cheap! But certainly have fun on your Cali adventures!

[jal]

Thanks JC
We spent between $50-$75 a bottle. Seems reasonable

[Comte Flaneur]

Came late to this thread but a great read! I have come across Domaine de la Cote at a tasting here a 7-8 years ago, I remember being impressed by it.

[jal]

Sorry about all the typos, I'll try to fix them when I have some time.
Yesterday we had lunch at the Dockside in Morro Bay. Awesome oysters, decent setting and we opened one of the Sanford and Benedict Rosė. As suspected, not as good outside the winery's garden and it needed a couple of ice cubes to dilute it. After that, went well with a dozen of the tastiest oysters we've had in a while.
Today San Luis Obispo. Probably tacos and Corona for a nice change

[JimHow]

Ok, I’ve got it on now on Amazon Prime, it’s been a while.

[Blanquito]

Paul Giamatti looks so young!

[JimHow]

Ha I thought the same thing.
Taking a break halfway through, man is he depressed.

[JimHow]

MichaelP's friend, Elizabeth Katkin, author of the NYT best seller "Conceivability," and attendee at the BWE convention in Denver, is a Yale classmate and friend of Paul Giamatti. I still say I want him to play me in the movie based on an Elizabeth Strout novel that Robert Redford is doing on me. On the other hand, I think he would be an even better fit as the protagonist in "Lisbon Street: the Movie."

[JimHow]

I'm also convinced that if his father had lived a little longer that Major League Baseball would be in better shape than the strikeout-homerun-four-hour-snoozefest it has become.

[Blanquito]

I'm also convinced that if his father had lived a little longer that Major League Baseball would be in better shape than the strikeout-homerun-four-hour-snoozefest it has become.

Holy cow, I had no idea they are related!

[JimHow]

Oh yes.

[JimHow]

Well I’m about 60% through the movie over like four days, I don’t care what anyone says, it’s a fun movie.

[jal]

I know, right? Some really fun moments not a lot of angst.

We’re in Monterey driving to Yosemite tomorrow. We stopped at a restaurant called Passionfish with a decent wine list and had a 2017 Domaine Forey Nuits Saint Georges; really nice nose of bright fruit, impeccable balance, earthy with some violets and red berries, not a lot of complexity but very open and ready to drink. Probably will put on more weight but I really love the lightness. 90

[Claret]

I loved Passionfish when I ate there about 10 years ago. Best list of 375's I have ever seen.

[Chateau Vin]

Well I’m about 60% through the movie over like four days, I don’t care what anyone says, it’s a fun movie.

Over the weekend I binge watched in one night the movie Sideways, A year in Burgundy and Pascal Marchand on Prime. A year in burgundy and Pascal Marchand are interesting and sort of documentaries. I thought 'a year in burgundy' is pretty cool...

[Chateau Vin]

Great report, Jacques.

Is Domaine de la Cote the Raj Parr thing?

And did anyone drink out of the dump bucket?

Rajath Parr had started other ventures also (Like Sandhi and other champagne stuff), but I was not impressed by those. Good for him that this venture in Sta Rita Hills is doing very well..