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Notary Public, Cabernet Sauvignon

Other, United States 2016 (750mL)
$32.00
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Fruit
Earth
Body
Tannin
Acid
Alcohol

Notary Public, Cabernet Sauvignon

The perfect description was coined when wine luminary Jamie Goode said Notary Public’s resolutely classic and terrifically priced Cabernet Sauvignon had “Old World sensibility.” Really, other than “extraordinary Cabernet value,” I struggle to find three better words for today’s Hall-of-Famer. Full of gravelly savor, powerful woodsy fruit, and a formidable Bordeaux structure, I challenge the world’s greatest tasters to call this Santa Barbara, let alone California, in a blind tasting.
I’ll even go a step further by declaring that not a single soul should feel ashamed if they were to call it a delicious Bordeaux—because, just like a classic Left Bank red, each grape was picked at optimal ripeness, a lengthy aging regimen occurred in mostly neutral French barrels, and the final ABV comes in at an elegant and pleasantly vibrant 13%. Who do we thank—or deeply bow to—for this brilliant display of ultra-pure, terroir-infused California Cabernet? South African native and Santa Barbara local Ernst Storm. With incredible speed and alacrity, he’s mastered the subtle yet hard-to-perfect art of terroir and minimalist winemaking, and it shows in every small-production release that makes its way into critics’ outstretched hands. Now approaching four years old, and just $29, this is an absolute beauty that could very well be the most profound domestic Cabernet value we have, or ever will, offer. This is guaranteed to impress any Bordeaux/California purist. 
So who is Ernst Storm and why have you (probably) not ever heard of him? For one, he's still relatively new on the scene, a transplant from his native South Africa. But really, it comes down to his work philosophy and state of mind, which was laid out without an iota of confusion in an interview with Vinous: “I like solitude. I like quiet. I eat lunch alone probably every day and I like that. I don’t feel like I need to be a part of any group to make it in the wine business. I want my brand to be about making good wines, and nothing else.”

As you can see, he has no desire to make the headlines, but still, his wines have organically found an avid audience that eagerly awaits each anticipated release. It really is farming/winemaking first and marketing/distribution second—a very, very distant second. Even my correspondence with him over the last several weeks has been concise and 100% wine driven, with zero marketing angles. This truly is a man who just wants to make damn good wine.

It runs in the family, too: His brother, Hannes, heads a winery back in South Africa and both will visit each other’s respective locations during harvest (opposite hemispheres = different seasons) to assist. Even his septuagenarian father still gets his hands stained and jumps right into the bottling line whenever visiting. It’s a close-knit, honest, intimate operation that vividly mirrors the style of wine Ernst strives to create.

Santa Ynez Valley is a relatively expansive appellation with a variety of microclimates inside of Santa Barbara County, so site selection and harvest dates are absolutely crucial. Today’s 2016 hails from three vineyards, all in the eastern reaches of Santa Ynez, that were harvested manually and vinified separately. After six days of cold-soaking and a multi-week maceration, the site-specific Cabernets (85% Sauvignon, 15% Franc) were blended together and transferred into mostly neutral French barrels. After 18 months of maturation, the final wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered. It has since aged undisturbed in bottle for the last two years—as I write this, the wine still rests in Santa Barbara. 

In the glass, Storms’ 2016 Notary Public Cabernet Sauvignon reveals a healthy, opaque dark ruby and wastes no time revealing an impressive arsenal of classic Cabernet aromatics: Yes, there is ample fruit here—currant, black cherry, plum, black raspberry—but the savory components steal the show. You’ll discover a firm backbone of crushed gravel, lead, fresh herbs, tobacco leaf, and nuanced baking spices that could easily steer someone into Bordeaux territory. It surges with a ripe core of dark fruits, but it’s the persistent layers of earth and crushed minerals that demand my undivided attention. It’s a mightily impressive spectacle that is drinking superbly at the moment, and yet, it will only continue evolving over the next 3-5 years. If you’re not impressed by this $29 value, we are simply operating on different wavelengths. Buy all you can!
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Country
United States
Region
Other
Sub-Region
United StatesSanta Ynez Valley
Soil
Sandy Loam
Farming
Sustainable
Blend
Cabernet Sauvignon 85%, Cabernet Franc 15%
Alcohol
13.0
OAK
Mostly Neutral French
TEMP.
60
Glassware
Bordeaux Stem
Drinking
Now-2025
Decanting
15-30 Minutes
Pairing
Center-Cut Tenderloin Roast

United States

Washington

Columbia Valley

Like many Washington wines, the “Columbia Valley” indication only tells part of the story: Columbia Valley covers a huge swath of Central
Washington, within which are a wide array of smaller AVAs (appellations).

Oregon

Willamette Valley

Oregon’s Willamette Valley has become an elite winegrowing zone in record time. Pioneering vintner David Lett, of The Eyrie Vineyard, planted the first Pinot Noir in the region in 1965, soon to be followed by a cadre of forward-thinking growers who (correctly) saw their wines as America’s answer to French
Burgundies. Today, the Willamette
Valley is indeed compared favorably to Burgundy, Pinot Noir’s spiritual home. And while Pinot Noir accounts for 64% of Oregon’s vineyard plantings, there are cool-climate whites that must not be missed.

California

Santa Barbara

Among the unique features of Santa Barbara County appellations like Ballard Canyon (a sub-zone of the Santa Ynez Valley AVA), is that it has a cool, Pacific-influenced climate juxtaposed with the intense luminosity of a southerly
latitude (the 34th parallel). Ballard Canyon has a more north-south orientation compared to most Santa Barbara AVAs, with soils of sandy
clay/loam and limestone.

California

Paso Robles

Situated at an elevation of 1,600 feet, it is rooted in soils of sandy loam and falls within the Highlands District of the Paso Robles AVA.

New York

North Fork

Wine growers and producers on Long Island’s North Fork have traditionally compared their terroir to that of Bordeaux and have focused on French varieties such as Cabernet Franc and Merlot.

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