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Cristaldi Scores

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Vintage

Wine

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Rating

Vintage

Wine

Color

Rating

2022

Au Bon Climat

Pinot Noir Isabelle

Named after the late Jim Clendenen’s daughter, Isabelle, this wine is a blend of the best barrels from Au Bon Climat’s top vineyard sites. It’s a beautifully fragrant Pinot Noir, with bright pine forest aromatics and deep forest berry character layered with nuances of espresso and pomegranate seed. A tapestry of velvety-textured tannins envelops the palate, carrying juicy cherry, blood orange, and fragrant Indian spices through an extended, graceful finish. Sources for the 2022 include: Bien Nacido (Santa Maria Valley AVA), Rancho La Cuna, Los Alamos Vineyard, Kick on Vineyard (Los Alamos Valley – Santa Barbara County), Talley Vineyard (Arroyo Grande AVA), and Lala Panzi Vineyard (Russian River Valley AVA). These small lots are kept separate throughout fermentation and aging and the final blend is a lot selection of the best barrels.

2022

Landmark Vineyards

Overlook Pinot Noir

Sourced from three distinct growing areas—the Escolle Vineyard in the northern Santa Lucia Highlands, the Paraiso Springs Vineyard at the southern end of the Highlands, and Danny’s Vineyard in the cooler western Chualar Canyon—this Pinot Noir was destemmed into small fermenters and punched down twice daily, then aged for 10 months in French oak (25% new). It’s a delicious wine, markedly mineral-rich with an iron-like, red-rock volcanic character and dusty mineral tones layered beneath juicy cherry fruit. Sweet cedar spices are nicely integrated, leading to a finish colored by clove, blood orange and a smoky mineral thread. I really like this wine; it was among my favorites from the Landmark lineup I tasted for this report.

2022

Sans Liege Wines

Grenache En Gedi

This Santa Barbara County Grenache comes from Sans Liege, a Tin City–based producer in Paso Robles, with fruit sourced from Alta Mesa Vineyard in the Cuyama Valley. The label is incredibly cool—and the wine delivers, too. It’s zesty and zippy, driven by vibrant acid tension that resolves into a chalky mineral texture. Medium-bodied and expressive, it’s rife with dark cherry, raspberry, and strawberry fruit, layered with notes of chocolate, cinnamon, and dusty dried rose petal.

2023

Wines by Alisa Jacobson

Distinctive by AJ Cabernet Sauvignon

This Cabernet from Alisa Jacobson, known around the Santa Ynez Valley as ‘AJ’, is sourced from her top sites in Paso Robles and the Santa Ynez Valley, with a splash of Santa Ynez Valley Merlot. Medium to full bodied and well balanced, it offers juicy, ripe red and black fruit layered with sweet baking spices. Plush tannins frame the palate, leading to a pleasing finish accented by sagebrush and crushed cocoa nibs. Aged primarily in neutral French oak (10% new).

Vintage

Wine

Type

Color

Rating

$

2022

Producer

Name

Named after the late Jim Clendenen’s daughter, Isabelle, this wine is a blend of the best barrels from Au Bon Climat’s top vineyard sites. It’s a beautifully fragrant Pinot Noir, with bright pine forest aromatics and deep forest berry character layered with nuances of espresso and pomegranate seed. A tapestry of velvety-textured tannins envelops the palate, carrying juicy cherry, blood orange, and fragrant Indian spices through an extended, graceful finish. Sources for the 2022 include: Bien Nacido (Santa Maria Valley AVA), Rancho La Cuna, Los Alamos Vineyard, Kick on Vineyard (Los Alamos Valley – Santa Barbara County), Talley Vineyard (Arroyo Grande AVA), and Lala Panzi Vineyard (Russian River Valley AVA). These small lots are kept separate throughout fermentation and aging and the final blend is a lot selection of the best barrels.

2022

Producer

Name

Sourced from three distinct growing areas—the Escolle Vineyard in the northern Santa Lucia Highlands, the Paraiso Springs Vineyard at the southern end of the Highlands, and Danny’s Vineyard in the cooler western Chualar Canyon—this Pinot Noir was destemmed into small fermenters and punched down twice daily, then aged for 10 months in French oak (25% new). It’s a delicious wine, markedly mineral-rich with an iron-like, red-rock volcanic character and dusty mineral tones layered beneath juicy cherry fruit. Sweet cedar spices are nicely integrated, leading to a finish colored by clove, blood orange and a smoky mineral thread. I really like this wine; it was among my favorites from the Landmark lineup I tasted for this report.

2022

Producer

Name

This Santa Barbara County Grenache comes from Sans Liege, a Tin City–based producer in Paso Robles, with fruit sourced from Alta Mesa Vineyard in the Cuyama Valley. The label is incredibly cool—and the wine delivers, too. It’s zesty and zippy, driven by vibrant acid tension that resolves into a chalky mineral texture. Medium-bodied and expressive, it’s rife with dark cherry, raspberry, and strawberry fruit, layered with notes of chocolate, cinnamon, and dusty dried rose petal.

2023

Producer

Name

This Cabernet from Alisa Jacobson, known around the Santa Ynez Valley as ‘AJ’, is sourced from her top sites in Paso Robles and the Santa Ynez Valley, with a splash of Santa Ynez Valley Merlot. Medium to full bodied and well balanced, it offers juicy, ripe red and black fruit layered with sweet baking spices. Plush tannins frame the palate, leading to a pleasing finish accented by sagebrush and crushed cocoa nibs. Aged primarily in neutral French oak (10% new).

Vintage

Wine

Type

Rating

$

2022

2022 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir Isabelle

Still Wine

N/A

2022

2022 Landmark Vineyards Overlook Pinot Noir

Still Wine

$

2022

2022 Sans Liege Wines Grenache En Gedi

Still Wine

N/A

2023

2023 Wines by Alisa Jacobson Distinctive by AJ Cabernet Sauvignon

Still Wine

$

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