Today’s wine reminds me of a spy-thriller movie that cold opens on a miles-high view and slowly zooms into a specific location: Starting in California, onto Santa Barbara, Sta. Rita Hills, “Rancho La Viña” vineyard, and finally stopping on the seven rows of vines responsible for this specific bottle. That’s right, just seven rows were chosen to craft this delicious, perfectly aged wine from an outstanding producer of first-class Santa Barbara Pinot Noir: SAMsARA.
Keeping to our movie theme, almost everyone has seen “Die Hard”—a classic action film full of non-stop explosivity that essentially paved the way for the genre. And, generally speaking, if you didn’t like that film, action movies might not be your cup of tea. Something that so perfectly defines a category, down to every last detail, is an impressive feat and SAMsARA’s 2013 “Rancho La Viña” impeccably showcases the beauty of Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir. What I’m getting at is this: If you don’t love today’s bottle, top quality California Pinot Noir may not be for you! But my wager is that you will love it and all the classic Burgundian traits it possesses. Elegant, polished, highly perfumed (à la Chambolle-Musigny), and wonderfully textured, this soulful Pinot Noir is expertly handcrafted from vineyard to bottling. Barely 200 cases were originally produced and SAMsARA was kind enough to give us the few that remained in their reserves—only six per person!
In the western reaches of Santa Barbara’s encompassing region, the east-west orientation of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA begins just 8 miles (anything closer is too cold for grape growing!) from the Pacific Ocean and acts as a funnel for cool marine air and fog blowing in from the west. Though you wouldn’t presume this area to be one of California’s coolest climates, it unquestionably is, and has been hallowed ground for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay cultivation since landmark vineyards like Sanford & Benedict were planted in the early 1970s. To understand just how extreme the temperatures are here, consider the following: each mile you move away from the coast in this small appellation is one degree warmer! And, this cool-climate area can see growing seasons that are 6-8 weeks longer than most other wine regions in California!
Originally founded in 2002, SAMsARA takes its name from Sanskrit and roughly translates to “the eternal cycle of life.” Though recently sold, it is now owned by longtime club members Joan & Dave Szkutak and the production is overseen by Matt Brady—a local winemaking superstar, best known for his work at Jaffurs in downtown Santa Barbara. And, although my conversation with Dave Szkutak was brief, I believe it’s worth saying that his intense passion for this business was made wholly evident. Throughout their entire range, they’ve made sure to sustain and even add onto SAMsARA’s existing philosophy of personally selecting specific plots for their unmanipulated and traditional winemaking style. Further, the wines they so carefully craft for years on end are ready to be enjoyed upon release—not many wineries in the world can confidently make that claim!
Take today’s Rancho La Viña Pinot Noir. This is one of the most westerly vineyards of the appellation and the seven rows chosen for this bottle have soils that make the vines struggle, so the fruit ultimately produced is more concentrated and flavorful with impressive levels of acidity. Grapes are, of course, hand picked and sent to their facility in small bins so as to avoid any premature crushing. Half of the crop is destemmed and only natural yeasts are used for a long, cool fermentation in small-batch tanks. The wine then ages in French barrels (25% new) for 20 months and is bottled unfined and unfiltered before an additional 18 months of rest. A time-consuming process, certainly, but one that best represents this terroir and their traditional winemaking style. I couldn’t recommend it more.
SAMsARA’s “Rancho La Viña” displays a bright ruby core with slight garnet hues on the rim that faintly indicate its five years of age. And while the color itself is enchanting, the nose outshines it by miles: Expect superbly fresh strawberries, black raspberry, red licorice, cherry blossoms, red currant, rose petals, turned earth, orange peel, exotic spices, and soft woodsy notes thanks to the judicious use of French oak. The palate confirms the perfectly ripe nose while tacking on wonderful savory aspects. Being crafted in Burgundian fashion, the medium-plus body shows incredible texture and rich berry fruit that is perfectly framed by incredibly smooth tannins and a soft backbone of finely crushed stones. This is easily one of the Pinot standouts from Santa Barbara’s 2013 vintage and it still has an impressive life ahead of it. Count on this providing great pleasure for the next 5-7 years if stored properly. When serving, decant for 30-60 minutes, or pull the cork several hours prior and pour into Burgundy stems around 60 degrees. As with the best Pinot Noirs, pairing with Zuni Chicken is a match made in heaven. Cheers!
