2023 Au Bon Climat, 60% Pinot Gris & 40% Pinot Blanc, Santa Barbara County.
The zesty, steely and crisp Au Bon Climat white blend, which this vintage is 60% Pinot Gris and 40% Pinot Blanc, is bright pale gold in the glass and bone dry and zingy on the lighter framed palate that shows off racy lemon, tat pear, quince and Granny Smith apple fruits. There’s plenty of lip smacking acidity and some delicate florals, along with hints of sea shore, wet stone, bitter almond and herb notes, making this Alsatian inspired white a refreshing spring and Summer wine that will pair nicely with briny sea foods. While obviously known for outstanding and legendary Piont Noir and Chardonnay, Au Bon Climat has a long history of doing fantastic blended whites, especially their famous Hildegard, a blend typically 55% Pinot Gris, 40% Pinot Blanc and 5% Aligoté. A few years on now from the loss of the legendary Jim Clandenen, Au Bon Climat continues to be a force in the wine world and produces a brilliant array of coastal marine climate wines. I always can count on the ABC Santa Barbara Pinot, it’s always a delightful bottle and a super value, but again don’t overlook the whites here!
The Au Bon Climat Winery says that the grapes here were harvested with low sugar and high acidity, the crisp Pinot Gris portion of the blend supplies the energy, while the Pinot Blanc delivers minerality and depth. The majority of Pinot Gris is harvested from Sierra Madre Vineyard and the Pinot Blanc portion is from the famous Bien Nacido Vineyard, the jewel of the Santa Maria Valley appellation. The 2023 vintage experienced a prolonged and cool growing season, which helped give extra hang time with exceptional acidity, as seen here in this exceptionally brisk and zingy white. The winemaking started with the Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc grapes being carefully harvested by hand, whole-cluster pressed and barrel-fermented in neutral French oak. This vintage, the winery notes, saw full Malolactic fermentation being allowed to complete in barrel and the wine is rested on the fine lees for 6 to 8 months, blended and racked back to barrel for a couple of months before bottling. Jim’s kids Isabelle Clendenen and Knox Alexander Clendenen have done a great job of continuing the quality, style and personality of Au Bon Climat and I recommend checking out the current collection of wines.
($22 Est.) 90 Points, grapelive