Galloni on SantaBarbara

[Blake_Brown]

I see the half full aspect of his review. With kudos to Alma Rosa, Beckman, Bien ancido, Chanin, Tyler and the others he praised and IHMO, rightly so.
For him to diss Palmina and not give high accolades to Clendenen Family Vineyards for the Nebbiolo is his oversight. Those wines are wondrous and Jim prides himself on being able to age these wines for years until they are ready to show some merit.

[Denny_Marin]

@larry schaffer

@Ian Dorin

@larry schaffer

I am not a subscriber, but I would think that more folks here and elsewhere wpuld take notice of this.

Here is someone coming into an area without having the experience of others and offering up some interesting insights.

I have no idea who she reviewed so have no idea how 'accurate this is, but it’s a pretty strong statement.

Cheers.

I would argue most on this board aren’t reading much of TWA any more, and LPB in particular

It’s interesting, she wasn’t very complimentary of Storm, and Galloni said it they “killed it this year”

She also didn’t love Wenzlau (which I adore), Jonata (SUPER strange), Jaffurs (also strange), and A Tribute to Grace. She was luke warm on most of the Liquid Farm wines, and Tyler too.

Wines she loved were of the norm for TWA, like SQN, Saxum, Booker, Sanguis, DAOU, L’Aventure, Epoch, Next of Kyn, etc. Interestingly, she only gave 3 Pinots a score of 95 (out of the Top 100 wines rated), so clearly you can tell where her pallet lies…

I would venture to guess that a good number of people on this board, whether they are active or ‘lurkers’, still pay attention to the TWA. I know it’s not ‘cool’ to do so anymore, but my gut feel is that many still do.

I’m not sure if Lisa actually met with many or any winemakers in this area, whereas Galloni did - and has done so in the past. As we all know, ‘context’ does come into play with wines. I dig Ernst Storm’s wines, but they are definitely more ‘old world’ in style and may not appealed to her. As far as the others goes, I have not had Wenzlau for awhile, Jonata is making killer stuff so not sure there, and Jaffurs has been killing it, but not sure what wines were poured. My guess is that the Tribute to Grace stuff came across as much lighter in comparison to others, and may have fallen into that category she alluded to in her paragraphs mentioned above.

What were the 3 pinots that you mentioned? And what vintages? Remember, we have had some challenging vintages around here . . . AND she was looking at all of the Central Coast, no? And how many Chardonnays did she have in that list?

Cheers!

Here are the 4 pinots that Lisa gave 95 points to:

2015 Brewer-Clifton Pinot Noir 459
2015 Paul Lato Pinot Noir Lancelot Pisoni Vineyard
2015 Paul Lato Pinot Noir Solomon Hills Vineyard Suerte
2015 Rusack Vineyards Pinot Noir Santa Catalina Island Vineyards

[larry_schaffer]

Denny,

Thanks for that information. Do you happen to have the retail pricing and all of this? My guess is none of them are very inexpensive, are they?

Did she rate any chardonnays at 95 points or higher? How about any Bordeaux varieties? Just really curious.

Cheers.

[Denny_Marin]

@larry schaffer

Denny,

Thanks for that information. Do you happen to have the retail pricing and all of this? My guess is none of them are very inexpensive, are they?

Did she rate any chardonnays at 95 points or higher? How about any Bordeaux varieties? Just really curious.

Cheers.

Larry - the 4 pinots range from $75 to $95. Coincidentally the highest rated chardonnays (95 to 96 points) were also from the same 3 pinot producers and are priced in the $60 to $80 range.

[brigcampbell]

Interesting the Rusack Catalina scored so well. New vines in a tough place in the middle of the ocean. Not quite in the middle of the SB AVA…

[Markus_S]

@TomHill

AntonioGalloni has a new report on SantaBarbara:
Galloni/SantaBarbara
where the main focus seems to be on the Pinot/Chard paradigm, a sidewise glance at Syrah, and a neglect of many of the other exciting things going on in SantaBarbara.
I was particularly amused & broke out into a big gaffaw over his “What I Did Not Like This Year” comment:

@Antonio

SantaBarbara Nebbiolo is not Barolo or Barbaresco

Well…doh !! I think SteveClifton’s Nebbs are first rate/world-class…with some age on them. As are JimClendenen’s. And Marisa & Kris’ Bevela Teroldego is right up there w/ Elisabetta’s.
Anyway, an interesting, if a bit superficial, read.
Tom

[Markus_S]

@TomHill

AntonioGalloni has a new report on SantaBarbara:
Galloni/SantaBarbara
where the main focus seems to be on the Pinot/Chard paradigm, a sidewise glance at Syrah, and a neglect of many of the other exciting things going on in SantaBarbara.
I was particularly amused & broke out into a big gaffaw over his “What I Did Not Like This Year” comment:

@Antonio

SantaBarbara Nebbiolo is not Barolo or Barbaresco

Well…doh !! I think SteveClifton’s Nebbs are first rate/world-class…with some age on them. As are JimClendenen’s. And Marisa & Kris’ Bevela Teroldego is right up there w/ Elisabetta’s.
Anyway, an interesting, if a bit superficial, read.
Tom

Where’s that dead horse…oh yeah, there it is:

[dougwilder]

I was very impressed overall by what I tasted during the week I spent in Los Alamos in June meeting with winemakers. How good? I tend to be stingy with scores yet it is the first time in six years i gave 100 points to wines from two different producers. Well done everyone.

[Blake_Brown]

@Ian Dorin

@larry schaffer

I am not a subscriber, but I would think that more folks here and elsewhere wpuld take notice of this.

Here is someone coming into an area without having the experience of others and offering up some interesting insights.

I have no idea who she reviewed so have no idea how 'accurate this is, but it’s a pretty strong statement.

Cheers.

I would argue most on this board aren’t reading much of TWA any more, and LPB in particular

It’s interesting, she wasn’t very complimentary of Storm, and Galloni said it they “killed it this year”

She also didn’t love Wenzlau (which I adore), Jonata (SUPER strange), Jaffurs (also strange), and A Tribute to Grace. She was luke warm on most of the Liquid Farm wines, and Tyler too.

Wines she loved were of the norm for TWA, like SQN, Saxum, Booker, Sanguis, DAOU, L’Aventure, Epoch, Next of Kyn, etc. Interestingly, she only gave 3 Pinots a score of 95 (out of the Top 100 wines rated), so clearly you can tell where her pallet lies…

I agree with your comment about where her palate lies. I`s obvious to me I can ignore her reviews or just go for the opposite impression.