Au Bon Climat "Isabelle" Pinot Noir, Central Coast, California 2021

FROM AU BON CLIMAT:

THE WINE: For the 2021 we sourced from Bien Nacido (Santa Maria Valley), Rancho La Cuna and Los Alamos Vineyard (both Los Alamos Valley - Santa Barbara County), Sanford & Benedict (Sta. Rita Hills), and Lala Panzi (Russian River Valley). Handled individually, small lots are kept separate throughout fermentation and aging. After tasting the best lots, we go through the barrel selection process. This tasting process takes a few days. After the initial selection, the barrels are reevaluated a few months later just prior to putting Isabelle together.

Au Bon Climat has made Pinot Noir in Santa Barbara County for 40 years. Our winemaking philosophy and practices have changed little over that time. Older equipment has been replaced by newer technologies, but better equipment improved the wines and allowed for gentler processing. We still hand pick and sort heavily in the vineyard. We still use open top fermenters and punch down once or twice daily by hand. Our top Pinot Noirs are never pumped, only moved by gravity. The high end Pinots are aged in new François Frères oak barrels and get all the tender loving care they need.

THE PRODUCER: Au Bon Climat winery was totally devoted to making classic, Burgundian-styled Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in Santa Barbara County. The convergence of cool, brisk Pacific air, marine-based soils, and east-west running valleys of the area provided an ideal place for growing exceptional grapes. Hence the name “Au Bon Climat,” the French idiom for “good place”.

Forty years later, the wines have earned a world-class reputation internationally. Jim Clendenen, “The Mind Behind” Au Bon Climat, set the objective and stayed true to its course. As the fads in California winemaking have come and gone, Au Bon Climat has maintained a laser focus in producing traditional, site-specific, nuanced, iconic wines.