KhaN!
What comes to mind:
Chanin is terrific. Not always great sources but if I compare his bottlings side by side with other winemakers’ from the same vineyard I always like what he did. Some are thrilling. My favorite. But they need six years.
ABC needs even more time. Big correlation in tasting notes, the older the better. Lindquist, his friend, makes some hidden gems.
Any winemaker’s Sanford and Benedict pinot tends to be one of her/his best wines for my palate. I’m trying and failing to love the equally esteemed Bien Nacido vineyard although Block X seems special.
I greatly prefer Santa Rita Hills wines to Santa Lucia Highlands wines. A winemaker told me why (it’s not because of quality, it’s a terroir style preference involving acidity and hang time) but I only heard it once so it’s unreliable.
Visited the Tyler [EDITED: NO, WRONG WINERY, TYLER WAS GOOD] tasting room and all four of us felt patronized by multiple staff. Like they were under orders to impress rather than to welcome and educate. Ambitious pricing.
I knew nothing when I visited Presqu’ile and I left really rooting for them.
Scar of the Sea makes my favorite white in that area, terrific people.
We tasted at the house and had an excellent experience, but may have been because it was more personalized
I share the same sentiments about Tyler, lowkey overpriced for what they offer for my taste. The host talked her ass off about herself while we tried to enjoy the wine and the estate in a very intimate setting. But otherwise it was a really good tasting experience.
Every winemaker I talked to agreed that SRH is cooler, more temperate and windier than SLH, hence the higher acid and concentration. I visited both regions and only in SRH that I need a jacket in the early summer. Much preferred the Bentrock and Wenzlau over Sanford & Benedict, but any decent SRH’s Pinot from the top vineyards (Bentrock, La Rinconada, S&B) drinks as good as Pisoni imo. And SRH’s Chardonnay is really special as if it was made to be with Santa Barbara sea urchin.
I was wrong, wrong winery, we went to a private house for Tyler, she was super informative. I won’t name the other, condescending, winery because it’s not mentioned above. I bought some Tyler. I corrected my post and apologize to Tyler. The other winery was pricier than Tyler.
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Meantbto say Presquile has a killer entry level bottling, need to hunt some more of that down
First off, why the discussion if SRH vs SLH? Two totally different regions - and perhaps 150-200 miles apart.
Now if you want to compare SRH and Santa Maria then we’re talking both SBC sub-regions and more ‘apples to apples’.
And Scar if the Sea makes great wines - usually from the SLO area.
Sorry - just need to make sure areas are not confused - just as most in here would never confuse Napa for Sonoma, right? 
Cheers
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No, but it’s certainly a reasonable statement for someone to say I generally prefer Sonoma over Napa or vice versa for XYZ reason.
Two different things here . . .
Discussion revolved around Santa Barbara County, and I believe comparing two sub regions within the county, though, as I mentioned, these two regions are not within our county.
I know that many do not completely know the region call home - just trying to add some clarity here.
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Thanks for mentioning this. I, too, am confused about the comparison between SRH and SLH. It’s not even like Napa vs Sonoma, it’s like Sonoma vs SLH or something. Completely disparate regions, just happen to be able to grow similar grapes.
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Just trying to ‘steer the ship’ here, so to speak . . .
Cheers
Where was this thread when I visited last month…
I did have a chance to go to the tasting rooms of Tyler and ABC. Tyler too New World IMO. Not bad but not great.
ABC while I quite like their more entry level options, I actually found their higher end wines only very marginally more complex than their entry levels and without good QPR. For ~$60-70 there are many other things i would get.
Also had a chance to try a 2005 Chardonnay there… Had the feeling that just because something can be aged doesn’t mean it has to be aged.
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I find that pretty surprising, but of course, in wine we all have our own subjective impressions and I’m glad you shared yours.
Do you remember what you tasted (or even just in a general sense)?
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I agree with this, except that for me it’s more that their mid-tier wines are so good that the “higher end” bottles don’t offer any more. For my palate the mid-tier wines are, at their price point, some of the best values in California Pinot Noir. Admittedly I haven’t yet had any of the post-Jim wines, but I imagine they’re still excellent
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What are the mid-tier wines? Give me a few examples. Thanks.
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Recently went to Santa Barbara and to the usual suspects, Story-, Liquid-, Drag-, Domaine-, others. Frankly, I found the quality for price a bit bewildering. Santa Lucia Highlands offered better value, in my opinion. Looking around at the seemingly never-ending vineyards in SB, my dominating thought was that this land could be growing vegetables, often for less irrigation. Let’s just say that the trip didn’t make a SB wine convert of me.
I can’t say I’m exactly a Santa Lucia convert, but if I remember correctly I had an Odonata that was pretty good. Met a few winemakers who have their heart in it. Met some further north in the Santa Cruz Mountains, up above Carmel Valley Village who are working hard (others less so).
For one, I had a Wrath PN, Cortada d’Alta (I believe, but I’d have to check my notes to confirm the vineyard) that we got a half case of at a discounted $30 that I enjoy.
Yep, no idea why Santa Lucia came up in this thread. And recognize that I continued the drift with my post above. Totally different. Also want to add that I did not go to or try Tercero Wines. Wish I had. Was so put off by Los Olivos “village” that I drove off to the coast in great haste.
Curious why you were out off by Los Olivos? Really interested to hear. It certainly can get somewhat busy on a weekend day but it’s far from chaotic.
As far as QOR goes, I still believe SBC tends to offer more for less compared to many other regions. There will always be exceptions though . . .
I find that very surprising too. Los Olivos feels like a small example of “the good old days of wine tasting” to me.
But of course it’s all completely subjective and every visit anywhere has its own unique set of details.
Yep, that’s why I asked the question.
And just want to make sure that I am not living in a ‘bubble’ so to speak.
Cheers