Loading When folks think about California’s outstanding wines, they typically focus on Napa Valley, not noticing the array of exceptional wines from all over Central Coast, from Monterey County to Santa Barbara.
Suppose you go towards the south from San Francisco, or east towards San Benito and Mt. Harlan and further toward Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo. In that case, it is a thriving winemaking activity, particularly within regions like Santa Maria Valley, Sta. Rita Hills, Santa Ynez Valley, Ballard Canyon, and Happy Canyon appellations.
While there are a lot of great wines that hail from the Central Coast, there are also some premium wines. Central Coast, I’ve focused on a few expensive wines and plenty of bottles from the $25-$40 range. Some of them will need to be contacted directly by the winery; others are available online. Many blends resemble Rhones of Paso Robles, up to Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay top picks from Santa Barbara County. This isn’t aan ll-inclusive list of best Central Coast wines to know, but it’s a great cheat sheet of some fantastic producers that ought to be on every wine enthusiast’s list of must-haves.
2017 The Joy Fantastic Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills ($50)
Husband-wife couple Peter Hunken and Amy Christine have roots deep in The Santa Barbara region. They’ve both been creating wine from the Lompoc Wine Ghetto since 2003. With the Black Sheep Finds “Hocus Pocus” and Holus Bolus labels they make exquisite variants that are reminiscent of California Syrah. The Joy Fantastic is a must for Pinot and Chardonnay enthusiasts; The Joy Fantastic fers the kind of wine that writ Bly describes as “a thousand years of joy.” Five acres of organically grown vines on the same land that Rajat Parr’s Domaine De La Cote vineyard The 2017 Pinot is a deep ruby-garnet hue which gives way to red cherry smokey clove, brown sugar, and orange peel flavors. It is a wonderfully textured wine with strong incense, dark cherries, brown spic, es, and a long, spicy, and fruity end.
2017 Tablas Creek Cotes de Tablas Adelaida District, Paso Robles ($50)
The Perrin family, the owners of Chateau de Beaucastel, The famous French Chateauneuf du-Pape estate in Southern Rhone, famously transplanted cuttings of vines out of Beaucastel onto the Tablas Creek estate in the Adelaida District of Paso Robles. “Cotes de Tables” comprises four grape varieties: Grenache, Syrah, Counoise, and Mourvedre. The wine is rich and round, packed with red-berry aromas and aandearthy and dusty flavors that mix in with sandalwood and aandwild black truffles foraged from the forest. A ripe boysenberry, tart cherry, and raspberry are accented by a firm, tannic finish that hints of leather cedar, tobacco, and a wonderful earthy scent like walking through the woods after a heavy rain. The finish shows an orange citrus scent along with crushed red rock.
2019 Grounded Wine Co. Space Age Rose, Central Coast ($18)
The Napa winemaker Josh Phelps spends much of his time on the Central Coast hunting down premium grapes that enable him to give value and flavor. Space Age rose is his creation. Space Age rose is a tasty Grenache-fueled, anytime sipper packaged in an Instagrammable label created by the Mexico City-based store Work By Gospel. The mouthfeel is luscious, balanced by a lot of mouthwatering acidity, and has cherry, strawberry, and watermelon flavors.
2017 Denner Dirt Worshipper, Syrah, Paso Robles ($70)
Just inside, close to the Templeton Gap in the Willow Creek sub-AVA region of Paso Robles, the vines at Denner have been growing for a long time, ever since Ron Denner began planting them in 1999. In the last ten years, vintner Anthony Yount has consistently turned out a mystifyingly complex blend from Rhone varieties, like this year’s Dirt Worshipper, a mixture composed of 97% Syrah and the addition of 2 percent Roussanne and 11 percent Viognier. Mocha spice and dark chocolate, with cinnamon and a smattering of sweet violet flowers that are smoky and rich. It’s broad, flowing with a satiny wave of blue and black fruits, including raspberry compote, and colored with tobacco and white pepper in a remarkably long conclusion. A must-try.
2018 Dragonette Cellars Sauvignon Blanc, Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara ($35)
If Sauvignon Blanc has fallen out of fashion for you through the years, This bottle brings it back to life. Co-founders John, Steve Dragonette, and Brandon Sparks Gillis are producing some of the most exquisite wines in Santa Barbara County. The Sauvignon Blanc grapes come in Grassini Family, Vogelzang, and Grimm’s Bluff, three of the best vineyards located within Happy Canyon on the eastern part of Santa Ynez Valley. It is aged in stainless steel and neutral French oak, with seven months of lees time; this wine showcases the silky texture of the grape flesh full of lemongrass and stone notes. It is awash in honeydew melon and juicy citrus notes, with a lengthy mineral finish.
2017 L’Aventure Optimus, Paso Robles ($55)
A French native, Stephan Asseo, and their wife, Beatrice came to Paso Robles in 1998 and have since produced several intriguing wines from the region. The daughter of Stephan and Beatrice, Chloe Asseo-Fabre, has taken on an active role in the family’s business. In 2016, caves with new features were opened, as well as the opening of a new tasting room. Asseo is experimenting with aging the wines inside clay amphora and cement tanks. Optimus is a red with a low-end price. The opaque red-purple hue opens up to boysenberry cassis, white pepper notes, spiced plum, and gorgeous violets. Silky and intense dark berry fruit and river stones that have been crushed and a fine-grained texture that finishes with a hint of sweet French oak. Even at 15.5 percent ABV, it is perfectly balanced.
2017 Sandhi Sanford & Benedict Chardonnay, Sta. Rita Hills ($68)
The only Rajat Parr, and aandSashi Moorman, Two of the Central Coast’s top contemporary assets, are able to plant 40 acres worth of grapes and vines on the Sta. Rita Hills and farm them organically. This means that the yields are small and the quality is high. Six vineyards are part of Domaine de la Cote, which they cultivate and sell to their mailing lists. It’s difficult to locate. However, it’s worth the number of phone calls it takes to find a bottle. If you’re searching for or trying to be on their mailing lists, search for Sandhi -the “negociant” style winery that uses bought grapes from the finest vineyards in Santa Barbara County. This Chardonnay is from the renowned Sanford & Benedict vineyard planted in 1971 by Richard Sanford. It is a mouth-filler with aromas and tastes of ginger spiced, Meyer Lemon, poached pear dried apricot, acrushed almonds hint, and a touch of tart mineral acidity.