Our first venture into Santa Barbara County began after the drive from LAX up the coast along Highway 101. Los Olivos is a tiny, charming town in the Santa Ynez Valley. Numerous tasting rooms, boutiques, cafes and inns are situated mostly along the main thoroughfare of Grand Avenue.
Several sommeliers that I had contacted on an industry discussion board had recommended Bien Nacido, so that is where we began. Thomas greeted us at their lovely tasting room and gave us some background on Bien Nacido as a producer. Their vineyards are located in the Santa Maria Valley AVA (American Viticultural Area), which is the northernmost AVA within Santa Barbara County. Along with the Santa Ynez Valley AVA, these growing areas have a unique geographical feature within California’s Central Coast which provides ideal conditions for growing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The valleys between the San Rafael and the Santa Ynez Valleys run east to west instead of north to south. This allows for cool maritime winds to blow directly through the valleys and cool the vineyards, thus providing a perfect environment for grapes that like cooler air. Bien Nacido sells 99% of their harvest to other producers and produces the remaining 1% under their own label (2000 cases), largely through tasting room and wine club sales. Thomas had us taste Chardonnay as well as Pinot Noir side by side, one each from their Bien Nacido Vineyard which is further inland, and one each from their Solomon Hills Vineyard which is closer to the coast. Solomon Hills is the cooler of the two and this was reflected in the wine. Cooler climates allow for higher acidity in wines, and this will be apparent in the taste of the wine. In both the Chardonnay and the Pinot, I found the acid to be a bit more well-balanced in the Bien Nacido offerings than the Solomon Hills. Solomon Hills came off as a bit too tart for my taste.
Also recommended and the highlight of our visit, was E11even by Andrew Murray. Their tasting room had a super cool vibe with a steely gray interior color and fun, wine themed gifts on the shelves. I’m not sure if it was the norm, or we just got lucky, but there were also a ton of awesome little dogs to accompany our tasting. I happen to be a sucker for cute little dogs.
We didn’t get quite the personal attention that we received at Bien Nacido as it was very busy. However, the lone employee did a fantastic job despite claiming that she had recently started working there. The Pinot Noirs were the standout for me. We tasted a 2014 Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir with pencil lead on the nose and strawberry, graphite and cinnamon on the palate. Everything was in perfect balance with smooth, subtle tannins. Sta. Rita Hills AVA lies to the south and slightly to the west of Santa Maria Valley. Being closer to the coast provides a cool, morning fog and again, cool maritime winds providing ideal conditions for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The 2014 Santa Maria Valley was the overall star here in my opinion. Simply delicious, with wet leaves and berries on the nose and bright red fruit on the palate, it had a long, luxurious finish, reminiscent of cola. E11even is a must visit should you visit Los Olivos.
