2019 Clendenen Family Vineyards Pinot Noir Rancho La Cuna

Jim Clendenen of Au Bon Climat (ABC) often dreamed of owning a small winery where commerce was not the driving force. Instead, the dream was to have the luxury of keeping wines in barrel for long periods of time when needed (5 years for the Nebbiolo!); to explore unusual varieties and idiosyncratic styles because they are interesting. The Clendenen Family brand, founded in 2000, is a passion project. There is no doubt that quality is here, along with the ABC signature of balance, finesse and longevity.

The wines of the Clendenen Family Vineyards are unique and always only available in very small quantities and as the exclusive importer of Au Bon Climat we are allowed to carry the beautiful wines of the Clendenen Family Vineyards. In Europe these wines are hardly found and 99% of these wines remain in the USA and are distributed via the Au Bon Climat Wine Club. In some cases only 50 cases are made so these are true collector's items.

The wines always receive unanimously high scores. This is what Antonio Galloni (VINOUS) says about the Clendenen wines: "This is a fabulous set of wines from Au Bon Climat. These new releases provide fascinating insight into his stylistic choices across several vineyards and sites. I have said this before, but I think it bears repeating. It's fascinating to taste the Au Bon Climat wines given how much Clendenen influenced many of today's leading young winemakers.

This Pinot Noir Rancho La Cuna is powerful, not by its density, but by beautifully pronounced fruit within a solid, layered structure. The bouquet offers aromas of cranberry, plum, mint, rose petals, dried herbs and spices. On the palate, flavors of dark cherries, cloves, red licorice and black tea come together, supported by a soft touch of toasted oak.

Winemaker's Notes
The vines of Rancho La Cuna grow on steep slopes. The Pinot portion is mainly planted with clone 115 , supplemented with a small amount of clone 828. All Pinot Noir grapes are hand-picked and processed immediately after harvest. The grapes arrive at the winery cooled and undergo a slow, cool fermentation. During the fermentation process, the grapes are manually immersed at least twice a day to gently extract all the desired aromas, flavors and colorants from the grapes. After fermentation, the wine is aged for 24 months in 100% new François Frères French oak barrels and then bottled unfiltered.

Rancho La Cuna Pinots are not simple "fruit bombs." They are smooth, elegant and so well balanced that the many different flavors come together harmoniously in one wine. This Pinot Noir will continue to develop over the next ten to fifteen years, although previous vintages have shown that the wine can also age excellently in the longer term.

Background
Located in the Los Alamos Valley , Rancho La Cuna sits between the cooler Santa Maria Valley appellation and the warmer Santa Ynez Valley . Los Alamos wines combine the best of both regions: expressive fruit character, density and full texture from the south (Santa Ynez), combined with the firm structure and finesse of the cooler north (Santa Maria). Although Los Alamos does not have its own appellation, its wines are labeled as being from Santa Barbara County , but the region certainly has its own distinctive character.

The first vines at Rancho La Cuna were planted in the early 2000s, with Pinot Noir, Syrah and Grenache. The vineyard continues to grow and improve. In 2015, a new section was planted with Grenache. While the 2018 vintage is not the vineyard’s first Grenache, it is the second vintage from the new planting of clone 515 on 1103P rootstocks. The results are promising and show just how special this vineyard is!

FACT: In the 'Attachments' tab you will find the official fact sheet of this beautiful wine. We will automatically send it to you when you order this wine. The wine is in our conditioned Wine Warehouse and if you come to pick up the wine you will often also receive a nice discount . You will see your discount immediately when you choose 'Pick up' on the checkout page. We are located in Dordrecht almost next to the A16 with plenty of parking. Click here for our address.