Recently heard about this project involving Rajat Parr, Sashi Moorman and others.
Can’t really find any notes on the wines, has anyone here tasted them? Looks to be low abv, IPOB wines.
From http://domainedelacote.com/project/la-cote/
"Domaine de la Côte is a collection of 6 vineyards planted over 40 acres on the furthest western edge of the Sta. Rita Hills appellation: Memorious (3.5 acres), Bloom’s Field (7.5 acres), Siren’s Call (3 acres), Clos Juliet (1 acre), La Côte (9.5 acres), and 15.5 acres of appellation Sta. Rita Hills. Dramatically rising to an elevation of 700 feet above the Santa Ynez River, the Domaine lies on an ancient 25 million year old siliceous (silex) and diatomaceous seabed 7 miles from the Pacific Ocean.
Originally part of the Evening Land Vineyards program, the Domaine was purchased by Raj Parr and Sashi Moorman, along with their partner, at the beginning of 2013. "
Producers popping up in SRH every week, seems like.
Here’s their wines in CT.
That west side of SRH and up the hill is a sweet spot.
I’ve got all three (Sta Rita Hills, Bloom’s and la Cote) in my cellar, but have only tried the standard SRH. I hope to give the other two a bit of time before popping, but I’ve got a young cellar so that may be tough. I didn’t take any notes on the SRH as it was one of many bottles opened during Christmas with a large group of people who are not really into wine, so I just opened it to check it out, and it was good. Obviously “leaner” in style, lots of crunchy, red fruit (tart cherry, cranberry) with some herb notes and crisp acidity.
Not sure if you are familiar with Sandhi, but it is another joint effort between Raj, Sashi, and Charles Banks, and they are putting out some very good SRH pinot and chard. Once I found out this group had purchased the Evening Land holdings, I was all in. If you are curious about the Domaine de la Cote wines, but can’t track any down I would suggest getting a few different Sandhi wines, as they will be solid representations of the DDLC style.
Side note, the Sandhi 2010 Evening Land Tempest (Tempest is now the “la Cote” vineyard) is what really peaked my interest in wine a couple of years ago, and I’ve been hooked ever since. The Evening Land Tempest bottle was also one helluva good pinot when Evening Land was still bottling.
I took a tour of the DDLC vineyards with Sashi a few weeks ago and tasted the 2012s from barrel. I’ll see if I can dig up my notes this weekend, but suffice it to say that I was impressed and it is a formidable project. HOWEVER, these wines are deliberately made for long aging, with lots of structure, so they will not be quite as impressive straight out of the gate, and it will take a leap of faith to buy and cellar them. By contrast, I think Sandhi Pinots are more accessible in their youth.
Thanks for the comments! I have had some Sandhi wines, and enjoyed them. I think I may get some of the Bloom’s Field.
Tried all 3 of the '11s at an event a few months back in SF with the team at RN74. I actually preferred the Bloom’s Field the most of the 3 on that night and beyond what is written above also got a little orange peel out of the nose as well. Didn’t get a chance to ask why they have DDLC, Sandhi separated but assume it must be investors/owners being different to some extent.
I also enjoy the Sandhi Pinot so recognize that I am biased but I will say that the Sandhi Chardonnay’s to me are the standout from Sandhi. I wouldn’t put the Sandhi Pinot in my top 5 but would the Chardonnay.
I would stick with the Bloom’s field or the SRH Estate until you taste the pricier top tier offering and let your palate judge for yourself on that one.
Cheers
Had the 2011 Bloom’s Field not too long ago, and was impressed… Red and purple fruits abound on the nose, slightly floral, along with lots of stem notes and some anise. Very tight, mouth watering acidity, chewy red fruits. Day 2 showed rounder tannin and still held vivid fruit notes. Would like to see one of these with 10+ years on it.