Three of us like mind and soul brothers occasionally get a night out together and share some love which we did recently while dining at the fabulous and majorly undiscovered local gem, Black Sheep, which seems to be appropriately named relative to its degree of recognition amongst a bevy of Santa Barbara restaurants.
As usual, we each take a couple of bottles we think the others would enjoy and open all or most for at least a taste or three. On this night, we had a few more tastes as every wine showed beautifully.
2012 POL ROGER BRUT- a blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay from 20 Grands and Premiers crus vineyards in the Montagne de Reims and the Côte des Blancs; it was aged for 7 years, disgorged 10/18 and dosed at 7 gpl; this is the 2nd bottle of two I bought to check them out {along with two Brut Rose} and both Bruts have been consistently fantastic with a pale golden color, inviting aromatics of spicy fruit especially ripe citrus notes which on the palate became lemon, lime, apple and pear with accents of ginger and spice; it is super rich and creamy, full bodied and generous, yet has finesse with lots of charm and all of this is at this tender age of 8.
The Brut Rose is also very good and worth a plunge.
2010 CHATEAU MONTELENA CHARDONNAY NAPA- this was immediately mindful of the famous 1973 that won the 1976 “Judgment of Paris” competition against serious white Burgundy contenders; this certainly won our votes as it showed beautifully with nice aromas of citrus flowers, tropical and citrus fruit with an accent of minerals; on the palate, everything continued on with slightly honeyed lemon, lime, green apples and white peach most noticeable as well as the continuation of the underlying streak of minerals; it had nice feel and finished on an upbeat; this was so good, we just kept going back to it throughout the evening with continued raves and consistent notes.
2009 AU BON CLIMAT SANFORD & BENEDICT VINEYARD SANTA YNEZ VALLEY PINOT NOIR- this was a special bottling Jim did to honor specific local vineyards that he designated as being part of a Santa Barbara Historic Vineyards Collection; it was planted in 1971 and now has the oldest Pinot Noir vines existing in Santa Barbara County; deserving its tribute, this bottle, like all others I’ve had was superlative being in perfect balance; the aromas had really nice ripe red and dark fruit with hints of spice; the taste more specifically gave red cherry, red raspberry, blackberry and blueberry fruit while being delivered in a smooth, silky medium; its been about 2 1/2 years since I had the last bottle and this has beautifully come together and couldn’t be more magnificently expressed.
2018 CROIX ESTATE RITCHIE VINEYARD “EASTSIDE” RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY PINOT NOIR- my friends had drunk this wine previously and thought I might have interest in it so it was brought for that opportunity and I’m grateful that it was; I’ve had quite a few Pinots from this vineyard including Paul Hobbs, Woodenhead, DuMOL, Aubert and Gary Farrell and all have been really good although made in varying styles and perhaps sourced from different blocks; this style comes from proprietor and winemaker, Kirk Venge, and results in being a very big and bold, full bodied statement with a dominant dark fruit profile, especially black cherry joined by accents of oak spice, cedar and nutmeg; it is very complex and has layers unfolding with pleasant nuances coming in with each layer; although good now, this needs a lot of time to evolve and certainly a good decant.
2010 DOMAINE GASTON & PIERRE RAVAULT ALOXE-CORTON 1er Cru- I first had this in late 2017 and it was not ready to give all of its treasures, but on this night, we had many jewels to appreciate; it comes from a family owned winery located at the foot of the famous hill of Corton; as with the first bottle, it had nice cinnamon and spice laden red raspberry and strawberry with red cherry becoming dominant by mid palate and finishing it off; it was medium to full bodied and had elegance and suave.
Without requesting, we were righteously attended to and catered to by the chef/ owner who prepared all of our dishes off menu using fresh, local and sustainable product. Chef Robert is a true genius and deserves to be successful and appreciated by the locals which is slowly happening. He has mastered the art of creating amazing dishes that have varying degrees of intriguing textures and balance between the sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami tastebuds which covers all of our sensory preceptors on the tongue and palate.
It was a fine night with my brothers and I’m looking forward to the next one.
Cheers,
Blake