2024 Storm Wines, Sangiovese, Ouf Family Vineyard, Santa Barbara County.
The Storm Sangiovese, coming from Ernst Storm’s friend Hazem Ouf’s vineyard in the deep reaches of the Santa Ynez Valley, is a dark garnet and ruby hued wine that highlights the warm days and cool nights here with a burst of bright red fruits, snappy herbs, subtle wood notes, delicate florals and earthiness. Medium bodied and fresh in style, this delicious wine leans toward strawberry, tree picked plum, Bing cherry and cranberry fruits on the nicely retailed palate, along with a hint of cigar wrapper, some dusty spices, minty herb notes and a cut of vivid acidity that make this Sangiovese especially good with food. I tasted this one on a visit to Storm’s tasting room in Los Olivos, earlier this Summer, along with some of the wines I previously reviewed, but I still remember it and wish I had got another few bottles. The organic Sangiovese grapes were cool fermented and macerated, extracting just the right amount of tannin, and then aged about 9 months in used French oak, resulting in this lively, fun and rewarding wine. Definitely this would be fabulous with Summer tomato pasta dishes and or a nice hard sheep’s cheese, and while not Tuscan, it sure is tasty stuff.
As I mentioned before, I really enjoy the Storm Wines and South African born Ernst Storm, who I tasted with recently, and the lovely and authentic set of wines he does, which appeal for the less equals more approach and letting the grapes do the talking. Non pretentious and with a dry wit, Storm echos the best qualities of his wines, especially this Rhône red blend, that I reviewed earlier, and is one of my favorites in his latest collection of offerings, along with this Sangiovese, which was all new to me, his dry Rosé of Grenache, the Sauvignon Blanc, with its jalapeño and gooseberry zing, and the lovely Presqu’ile Vineyard Pinot Noir, which is maybe a signature effort. Ernst Storm, embraces old world influences and new world techniques, along with the Mediterranean climate, diverse soils, and exciting new opportunities found here in Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez and Santa Maria, on the cooler Central Coast vineyards. All fruit, for Storm, including his Rosé, comes from long term relationships at sustainable, organic or biodynamic vineyards, which capture the essence of the place and the natural force within them. I highly recommend exploring the range of Storm wines and joining their list to get the latest
($45 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive