Au Bon Climat "Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir" Central Coast, California 2024

FROM AU BON CLIMAT:

THE WINE: This wine is a handcrafted blend from premier vineyards in Santa Barbara County. The majority of the blend comes from the Santa Maria Valley, featuring Bien Nacido, North Canyon, and Rancho Real vineyards, with a small percentage sourced from Kick On and Los Alamos Vineyard in the Los Alamos area. Our winemaking process has remained consistent for 40 years, focusing on traditional, time-proven techniques. We hand harvest, ferment in small lots, perform daily manual punch downs, and age in François Frères French oak barrels for 8-12 months. This small barrel aging imparts depth and complexity to our Pinot Noir.

THE PRODUCER: The Côte-de-Brouilly appellation sits on the hillsides of Mont Brouilly, a prehistoric volcano that left blue schist stones and volcanic rock along its slopes. These stones yield structured wines with pronounced minerality and great aging potential. After her formal training at the viticultural school in Beaune Nicole began working at a her family’s domaine and gained a deeper appreciation of the traditional winemaking techniques of the Beaujolais: hand harvesting, whole cluster fermentation, aging the wines in large oak foudres for at least nine months, and bottling unfiltered. The resulting wines are powerful, with loads of pure fruit character and floral aromas.