A charity benefit dinner event was held this last November by the Santa Barbara County Vintners Association at The Bacara Resort near Santa Barbara benefiting Direct Relief & Community Health Centers.
During that event, an auction lot was presented by Frank Ostini, owner of the Hitching Post ll Restaurant in Buellton, featuring a memorial tribute dinner for Jim Clendenen who passed in May 2021. Jim’s winery, Au Bon Climat, partnered in the lot and provided many large format [magnums, 3 and mostly 5 liter] wines made by Jim.
Jim was one of my best ever friends and his death was not only a huge surprise, but a huge loss for me and many others as well and it was easy to raise a paddle, albeit with a smile and a few tears.
Jim’s self proclaimed “Mind Behind”, as noted on many back labels and shipping containers, was a perfect description of who he was when it came to winemaking and marketing his masterfully crafted wines under various labels, the main one being Au Bon Climat, which he co-founded in 1982 with Adam Tolmach.
Actually, Jim was much more than just the mind behind, he was the spirit and the wit and the charm and the forever passionate paternal soul of the winery and for all of the “family” that worked at and for the winery.
Additionally, Jim was a world traveler and when doing so, he represented not only his wines, but all of those from Santa Barbara County and became an ambassador for the region almost by default. Many credit a great deal of the success of the county’s wine industry to him along with a few others and when the Sideways movie came out, the area exploded substantially more and the rest is history.
The auction lot was initially supposed to for about 15 people, but the interest level was so high, Frank added more seats and it went out of control at $1,000 per seat with eventually over 100 people in attendance.
It turns out some celebrity chefs who were friends of Jim’s also joined in to add a speciality dish to the menu to compliment the selection of large format wines made by Jim that came from the winery’s cellars.
Some of the chefs included Roy Yamaguichi [Roy’s of Hawaii et al] who brought family and friends from Hawaii, Clark Staub, who created the very popular local Full of Life Flatbread brand, Budi Kazali, Executive Chef of the classy, nearby Ballard Inn & Restaurant, Brad Lettau, executive chef at the Hitching Post II and the latter’s owner/ chef, Frank Ostini.
The venue was in a tented area behind the main restaurant building for the Hitching Post ll and there were 11 tables occupied by 10-11 people at each.
Gray Hartley, a partner of Frank’s in the Hartley-Ostini Hitching Post winery, skillfully placed large photos of Jim around the perimeter of the room to add to the tribute. Also, a few made speeches to acknowledge their love and appreciation for the man and the celebration was in full swing.
There was about an hour and a half long reception that sent the buzz to a high while many friends were reconnecting and hugging and toasting while being served tasty appetizers and a marvelous, soft and smooth, nicely acidic, 2020 Clendenen Family Vineyards Le Bon Climat Aligote. Also, many of the guests were wine makers and some brought their own wines to share. So, we all got off to a great start.
Each table was assigned a “sommelier”, most of whom were local winemakers and friends off Jim’s who poured the pre-selected wines for the evening that were adeptly paired with the courses. The sommeliers were: Bob Lindquist, Doug Margerum, Chuck Furuja, Gary Burk, Paul Lato, Weston Hartley, James Sanders, Brittany LaFierce, Jill Goldworn, Matt Corella, Treeva Silva and Randi Chavoya.
Here’s the menu and wine pairings with a few notes:
Claire`s Chicory Salad
Roots Farm fennel & radicchio, Elder Flat Farms citrus preserved lemon vinaigrette
2015 AU BON CLIMAT HILDEGARD WHITE BLEND SANTA MARIA VALLEY from 5 liter- this had bright acidity with mineral and spice laced citrus and tropical fruit delivered in a smooth, creamy textured medium that gracefully coated the palate; it was wonderfully rich and full bodied with massive longevity potential.
Jim created the Hildegard blend in 1988 and it usually consisted of 50% Pinot Gris, 40% Pinot Blanc and 10% Aligoté which were the the original varietals planted in the Corton Charlemagne vineyard in 800 A.D. Interestingly, Chardonnay was not included at that time.
Thus, Jim named it as a salute to the history of Burgundy and to Hildegard’s husband, the King of the Franks, Charlemagne.
2002 AU BON CLIMAT HILDEGARD WHITE BLEND SANTA MARIA VALLEY from 5 liters- as good as the youthful ’15 was, this was even better, in fact, it was absolutely fabulous; its hallmark was its perfect balance from the nose though the tail; it had such inviting aromatics of petrol and mineral accented citrus and orchard fruit which on the palate translated into green and yellow apple, pear, honeydew melon, tangerine, lemon and grapefruit; it had an oily, smooth texture and finished with all of its treasures gently dancing on the palate.
Roy`s grilled sea bass
Jook [a rice porridge ] with Uni
An amazing, flavorfully seasoned dish
2015 AU BON CLIMAT SANFORD & BENEDICT VINEYARD “3Oth VINTAGE CELEBRATION” SANTA YNEZ VALLEY CHARDONNAY from 5 liter- this was crisp and bright and graceful and yet had lots of body and richness sporting a profile of wet stones and mineral laced yellow apple, lemon and orange zest; the mineral component seemed to expand and grow throughout and was the last impression on the finish.
1997 AU BON CLIMAT TALLEY VINEYARD ARROYO GRANDE VALLEY CHARDONNAY from 5 liter- I used to drink a lot of this when it was first released and it was our house Chard for a few years, so it was truly fantastic to revisit it albeit from a 5 liter bottle and many years later; it was as special as remembered, in fact, more so due its maturation which was represented by the apricot, nectarine and white peach notes that evolved from the yellow apple and pear of yesteryear; it still had that dreamy, creamy mouthfeel and a touch of oak spice that I loved so much initially.
Both of these dishes were matched perfectly with the wines.
Budi’s smoked duck breast
Japanese turnips, tempura chantrelles
2015 AU BON CLIMAT “ISABELLE” CALIFORNIA PINOT NOIR from 5 liter- this was a wowzer out of the gate; I expected it to be pretty rambunctious being so young and from a large format, but it was very giving and ready to please although it won’t reach its apogee for another 25 years or so; it had spicy dark fruit in the form of black cherry and blackberry with a touch of blueberry coming in late while being delivered in a soft and easy on the palate medium; it was full bodied, had nice length and finished with everything coming together as if it was truly ready.
The Isabelle wines were first made in 1994 and serving as a tribute to Jim’s daughter who was conceived [not born] in that year. He blended the best barrels from specific sites which were predominantly from Bien Nacido, Sanford & Benedict, Talley Rincon and Mt. Carmel.
2001 AU BON CLIMAT “ISABELLE” CALIFORNIA PINOT NOIR from 5 liter - here comes another quite familiar wine that I just had a few weeks ago in a 750; this was even better being bigger and richer and having a full on energetic thrust with some weight and length supporting the ripe black cherry fruit that is so prominent and accented with tea leaves, allspice and cardamon.
2001 AU BON CLIMAT 2Oth HARVEST SELECTION “LARMES de GRAPPE” SANTA RITA HILLS PINOT NOIR from 750 ml- I took this to share with some who I knew would appreciate it as it was Jim’s self proclaimed “one of my best ever” wines; he sold it for $150 and often would state “where else can you get Grand Cru red Burgundy for $150?” It was decanted for 4+ hours and therefore primed and ready once poured; the nose had lovely lavender and violets to compliment the marvelous black cherry, plum fruit; it was rich and full bodied and had a silky smooth texture that added to the sensory treats, but it’s hallmark was it’s perfect balance.
HP Grilled New York Loin
Truffled based potatoes, Port/ Wine reduction
1986 VITA NOVA RESERVATUM SANTA BARBARA COUNTY from magnum- 65% Cabernet Sauvignon from Joe Carrari’s vineyard in Los Alamos, and 35% Merlot from Rancho Sisquoc; this relatively obscure label was created by Jim and Bob Lindquist in 1986 and later on added, Doug Margerum and Steve Acronico, a friend and attorney of Jim’s; as I recall, most of the wines were off the main stream and therefore unique and interesting; our bottle was quite advanced with earth and mushroom laden dark dried fruit with pretty stiff underlying tannins.
2000 CLENDENEN FAMILY VINEYARDS “BRICCO BUON NATALE” SANTA MARIA VALLEY NEBBIOLO from 3 liter- not many know that Jim made some really good wines outside of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and his Nebbiolo`s were really good and this one confirmed such; tar and roses accented blackberry fruit was most prevalent in this inky black, teeth staining wine that is still evolving; it was held up for many years prior to release to allow it to mature and it is still in the process.
Cheeses
Ciresa Gorgonzola Dolce
Muriciana Drunken Goat, Comte Charles Arnoud
1998 AU BON CLIMAT HILDEGARD WHITE BLEND SANTA MARIA VALLEY from 5 liter- I had last visited and reviewed this wine in 2012 and my final notes stated “it has moved from a stately elegance [ in previous bottles] to a royal magnificence”. Well, it still is maintaining royal magnificence after 11 more years; dosed with a streak of minerality throughout, it had bright acidity, nice balance, a medium body and smooth texture to compliment the refreshing orange blossom, citrus laden fruit profile.
Overall, the wines were just phenomenal. I hesitate to make the Burgundy reference, but I just have to as there is no other producer that I know of that has created more of the Burgundy style of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the New World and he did it with passionate intention.
IMHO, this tribute dinner was done exceptionally well and Jim would have loved it and Frank is to be highly praised for making it happen and putting it all together. Throughout the evening, Jim’s photos seem to come alive and his facial expressions appeared to change with broadening smiles and twinkling eyes. I even thought I caught a head nod and a wink of approval at one point.
As stated by many on this evening, I think of Jim often and dearly miss him. I feel so blessed to have had him as a friend and brother and to have shared a tribute to him along with many other friends and brothers and sisters.
Cheers,
Blake
