Dragonette

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Brooding, expressive, and impressively focused, this blend of 97% Syrah and 3% Grenache draws from three distinctive vineyard sites—Stolpman (clay loam and limestone), John Sebastiano (Linne clay loam), and Larner (sand)—each selected for its unique soil series. The wine opens with a rush of pure black cherry and blackberry fruit, mingling with dark plum, deep forest underbrush, bark, dark chocolate, rich loamy earth, and roasted espresso bean. Aromatics build with momentum, gaining lift and energy on the palate, where gorgeously perfumed violet and rose petal notes emerge. In 2021, the tannins are particularly gentle, velvety, and elongated, wrapped in a dusting of white pepper and tobacco leaf. The finish is vivid and complex, with ripe, muddled farmers market–fresh blueberries, a pulse of blood orange acidity, and savory notes of black truffle, tar, and incense. Wow. As winemaker Brandon Sparks-Gillis explains, the idea behind Dragonette’s MJM Syrah has always been simple: “The sum is greater than its parts.” That ethos has guided every vintage since the inaugural release in 2007.

Red

2022

Producer

Name

All you really need to know about this Rita’s Crown Chardonnay is that one glass will never be enough. You’ll swirl, sniff, sip—and suddenly want to chase its magic for days. It holds the energy of a late afternoon thunderstorm, with a moody edge and an electrically zesty palate, like a raincloud squeezing out lemon juice, shifting to lemon oil, then unleashing waves of fresh and candied ginger. It splashes across the palate like rain on slick slate—slightly smoky from the first drops hitting warm stone. Irresistible, complex, and utterly compelling. You just can’t get enough of this structured, dynamic, and gorgeous Chardonnay. It lives on the far side of “delicious”—a word we haven’t invented yet, but one that would mean delicious multiplied by infinity.

White

2022

Producer

Name

Year to year, this wine goes in and out of the most vivid floral intensity imagineable and in 2022 it is back in spades, boasting darkly seductive voilets and rose petals notes, dark blood orange acidity, darker cranberry and black cherry notes, alluring incense and a deep woodsy underbrush character, liek the backside of a fallen bark on the forest floor, detail-driven into the tannins, which are supple and salty, giving length, tension, and energy to this entry level Syrah from Dragonette. What a killer wine.

Red

2023

Producer

Name

For a compelling case study in site expression, taste this Bentrock Vineyard Pinot Noir alongside Dragonette’s Radian Vineyard Pinot Noir. You’ll immediately feel like a hopeful Master of Wine or Master Sommelier—the wines are structurally distinct yet flavorfully aligned. These are Dragonette’s top Pinots of the vintage, both bursting with red cherry fruit and exquisitely defined brown baking spices—think the finest Indian spice blends, perfectly dialed-in medium-roast espresso, and a curl of dried blood orange peel hanging from the rim of a Manhattan. Add in smoky incense and crushed slatestone minerality, and the aromatics alone are worth the study. On the palate, however, the wines diverge. Bentrock is gracious, giving, supple, and seductive. Radian is darker-toned, brooding, reserved—full of secrets. Bentrock tells you everything you ever wanted to know. Radian is coy, plays hard to get, and knows it’s the best-dressed Pinot in the room. It’s coiled, like a lifelong jogger planning to live forever. Bentrock, on the other hand, is Jim Belushi at the start of his SNL career—youthful, charming, and full of potential—and will finish somewhere between John Mulaney’s honesty and the sharp-witted Tina Fey’s antics.

Red

2023

Producer

Name

This 2023 Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir from Dragonette is a power-packed, juicy, and supple red, bursting with alluring aromatics of brown spices—think coriander, cumin, star anise, and a hint of curry—layered with dried rose petal, incense, and ground espresso bean. On the medium-bodied palate, tart, juicy red cherry and raspberry fruit are supported by salty, toasty, smoky minerality that carries through a long, lingering finish. It’s so appealing, you’ll be hard-pressed to put the glass down.

Red

2023

Producer

Name

For a textbook lesson in terroir-driven contrast, pour Dragonette’s Radian Vineyard Pinot Noir side by side with their Bentrock bottling. You’ll find yourself stepping into the shoes of a Master of Wine candidate or an aspiring Master Sommelier—the structural differences are unmistakable, even as the core flavors remain strikingly aligned. These are Dragonette’s flagship Pinots from the vintage, each bursting with crystalline red cherry fruit and meticulously defined brown spice—like top-shelf Indian spices, finely ground espresso beans, a dried blood orange peel garnishing a Manhattan, and a wisp of smoky incense over slatestone minerality. But it’s the palate where their personalities split. Bentrock is open-hearted, plush, and inviting. Radian is moodier, more reserved—brimming with hidden depth. Bentrock chats freely, telling you its whole story in the first sip. Radian keeps you guessing, its elegance cool and tightly wound, dressed to impress and in no rush to reveal its full self. Radian is a long-distance runner, lean and disciplined, with stamina for days. Bentrock is Jim Belushi entering his SNL era—charismatic, a little wild, and on the cusp of greatness.

Red

2023

Producer

Name

Only 300 cases of Dragonette’s 2023 Sanford & Benedict Vineyard Pinot Noir were produced—and what a wine it is. Crunchy cranberry and cherry fruit meld with ground espresso and a burst of dark Pacific Ocean sea salt. The beautifully sculpted tannins bring a sense of polish and ease, offering a smooth, approachable expression. Yet underneath, there’s serious structure built for aging. But let’s be honest—you’re probably going to drink it all between now and next weekend.

Red

2023

Producer

Name

Dragonette continues to produce some of California’s most compelling Sauvignon Blancs and this Grassini Family Vineyard, situated inland enough so that a north-south mountain range blocks the Pacific coastal breezes, preventing them from cooling the canyons where this grows and as such the wine is generous in its creamy orchard fruit character, stunning lemon-lime oil purity and unbeleiveable mid-palate depth, like diving into the depths of a salty, briny, ocean, coming up with a handful of oysters. It has that kind of sea-like minerality with lemon blossom and lime zest and porached pear and apple fruit with subtle apple skin tannins. It’s a helluva Sauvingn Blanc. Meaty and laser focused.

White

2023

Producer

Name

Bracing and intense, this wine opens with a flash of saffron oil that’s quickly washed clean by a remarkable lime-scented rainstorm—cooling the old slate sidewalks of your neighborhood, enlivening the palate with scents and flavors of a wet pear or apple orchard, and settling in for the day on the mid-palate, carrying a cloud-like density—weighty yet airy—an enigma in and of itself. That acid tension is no illusion. It’s crystalline, bright, and perfectly balanced by a chalk-like minerality. It’s almost too complex to wrap your head around—so don’t. Just drink it. And by god, pair it with oysters or calamari.

White

2023

Producer

Name

I’ve biked past this vineyard countless times, and to this day I marvel at the complexity of the wine that emerges from these vines. Surrounded by neighboring vineyards, Vegelzang’s vines are planted on undulating slopes, surrounded by a patchwork of trees, shrubs, and rock formations, and the site exudes a quiet energy—and all of it seems to pour into the glass. The 2023 vintage is something special: pure apple and apricot notes lead the way, joined by crunchy pear and bright sea grass—the kind that grows wild on oceanfront sand dunes. A deeply penetrating salinity evokes salted candied lemon peel, nuanced by lime blossom and crushed Marcona almonds. This is Sauvignon Blanc Paradiso. And whether or not you think you love Sauvignon Blanc, you’ll love this wine. You can’t help it.

White

2024

Producer

Name

Dragonette continues to produce some of California’s most compelling Sauvignon Blancs. This entry-level bottling serves as the precursor to their trio of single-vineyard SBs, offering a vivid preview of the house style. Sourced from the Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara AVA, it’s a dynamic wine driven by orchard and tropical fruit, zesty sea grass, and prairie herbs. A kiss of vanilla and creamy oak spice mingles with lime oil, saffron, and quince, all carried on a long finish laced with crushed almonds and fine sea salt.

White

N/A

Producer

Name

A blend of Syrah from four vintages—2019 (20%), 2020 (20%), 2021 (40%), and 2022 (20%)—this wine brings together fruit from Stolpman, Kimsey, and Larner vineyards in Ballard Canyon and John Sebastiano in the Sta. Rita Hills. The final blend is 95% Syrah, 4% Grenache, and 1% Viognier. Aged for an extended period in barrel before careful blending, this bottling pays homage to Vega Sicilia’s famed Único Reserva Especial in Ribera del Duero. The label, a commissioned artwork by artist R. Anthony Askew, adds an extra layer of thoughtfulness to an already compelling bottle. I love this wine—and you will too—because it delivers a mouthful of Syrah deliciousness, done the Santa Barbara County way. Rich, supple dark fruits meet tangy blood orange acidity and mid-palate density. The wine builds with layers of black cherry, blackberry, violets, sandalwood, and robes of dark chocolate, all weaving into a satiny sheet that glides across the palate. The multi-vintage integration is so seamless and complete, it makes you wish Dragonette would craft a wine like this year after year.

Notes from the winery on how this wine was made:

“We harvested each block in the cold morning hours, personally hand sorting in the field. The grapes were destemmed within hours then cold soaked for 2-7 days, before fermentation with native yeasts. Pumpovers, punchdowns and delestage were used to gently extract flavor, while managing tannins. At dryness, the wines were transferred to French oak barrels of various formats (500L puncheon, 400L, and 228L barrique) of which a portion is new. Each vintage included in this blend was itself a blend of the best barrels for that given season. Each component vintage was aged separately with a range from 26 to 62 months in barrel, with an average age of 42.8 months in barrel. In honor of our 20th Anniversary, the wine was bottled in January of 2025.”