Santa Barbara: California’s Undiscovered Jewel

BY ANTONIO GALLONI | AUGUST 15, 2024

My tastings this year further confirmed what I have believed for a long time. Santa Barbara County is one of the most exciting and dynamic regions in the world. Despite dealing with the ups and downs of 2022, inspired winemakers found a way to deliver compelling wines that rank among the world’s finest. Readers who appreciate nuanced, cool-climate wines of place will find so much to discover in Santa Barbara.

Brandon Sparks-Gillis and John Dragonette presented a fabulous set of wines this year.

2022: Traversing the Valley of Death

Two thousand twenty-two will go down as one of the most challenging years on record. It is a highly variable vintage, although the top wines show plenty of site character, something that can often be lost in difficult vintages. Chardonnay and Syrah benefitted from thick skins and later ripening, making them the clear winners in 2022. Sauvignon Blanc, which ripens early, avoided the worst of the heat. Several producers noted that own-rooted vineyards fared much better overall. Unfortunately, Pinot Noir suffered quite a bit, yielding wines that are all over the map. 

The 2022 growing season is mostly remembered for an intense and sustained heat spike around Labor Day. Gaining a clear understanding of the vintage—if that is even possible in 2022—requires more in-depth analysis. Conditions were quite dry and cool for most of the year. Flowering and set were variable. Some producers noted a fairly normal set, while others saw potential yields affected significantly because of irregular weather. "We had 6.5 inches of rain instead of 12 in 2022. Contrast that to 30 the following year," winemaker Anthony Avila explained at the Bien Nacido Estate and Solomon Hills Estates. “Budbreak was early. We had a poor set, so yields were down 30-50%.” Elaine and Manfred Krankl reported losses of 50% on their Grenache crop. Much the same is true of disease pressure, which was high in some areas and less of an issue in others. Paul Lato and Graham Tatomer are among the producers who experienced elevated disease pressure and reduced yields.

When all was said and done, the Labor Day heat lasted 8-10 days, far longer than initially forecast, with elevated temperatures not seen before in Santa Barbara. That was followed by heavy rainfall on September 19 and 20. Some sites reported as much as 1-2 inches of rain during that storm, a very high level considering most vineyards see annual rainfall of around 14 inches. Temperatures then dipped for most of the fall until rain in October essentially brought harvest to a close. The Labor Day heat was so intense that it blocked ripening. In some places, ripening resumed as conditions returned to normal, but in other spots, the vines never fully recovered. 

Jill Russell continues to do important work at Cambria. Her Chardonnays in particular are impressive this year.

Unfortunately, the Labor Day heat coincided with the central part of the Pinot Noir harvest, which wreaked havoc for producers. As I have written before, one of the real pressure points in Santa Barbara is the number of producers who purchase fruit and who, therefore, rely on outsourced farming. As heat approached, winemakers were faced with very difficult choices. Pinot Noir is a thin-skinned variety that is especially fragile under stress. Picking early might help preserve freshness, but also result in anemic wines lacking in depth. Waiting carried other risks, including vines stalling out and never restarting or overly rich, alcoholic wines. For logistical regions, most vineyard companies require a 72- to 96-hour notice to schedule picks, which is very hard for producers attempting to be nimble in the face of very challenging conditions. As this unfolds, vineyard owners press their customers to pick because they are naturally risk-averse and want to protect themselves from losing crop. "Our harvest always starts at Fiddlestix. It was so hot that in just a few days, we lost one third of the weight of the fruit through dehydration,” Justin Willett told me at Tyler as he shared his unique perspective as both a buyer and seller of fruit.

What this means in practical terms is that many producers simply were not able to get their fruit in at the most optimal time for their needs. There was no “ideal’ time to pick the Pinots, just choices that turned out to be better than others. Some producers picked early; others waited it out as long as they could. “I have never regretted waiting, but I have regretted panicking and picking too early,” Chad Melville told me as we tasted through his new releases. On balance, though, considering the severe shocks of 2022, my overriding impression is that vineyard managers and winemakers are getting accustomed to dealing with heat. For example, 2017 also saw a heat wave around Labor Day. That episode was much less severe than in 2022 and yet the wines were quite marked.

Compounding matters, at many estates ripening was also concentrated into very narrow windows, meaning properties were forced to harvest a substantial amount of fruit in a short period of time, which is hard to deal with for wineries that need to turn tanks over during harvest, in other words, to use them more than once. "Everything ripened at once. We picked the two ranches (Sanford & Benedict and La Rinconada), all 262 acres, in 13 days, as opposed to 26 to 35, which is more typical,” winemaker Trey Fletcher shared as we tasted through the 2022s at Sanford Winery. Several winemakers commented on the struggle to keep cellars cold during ferments given the intense heat outside. In some places, yields may have been too high to start with. 

Interestingly, producers took very different approaches to stem inclusion in Pinot Noir. Some followed their usual protocols of working with a high percentage of stems, others reduced stem usage, and a third group of producers opted to lower whole clusters. Readers will find more details on specific choices in the accompanying producer commentaries.

For the later-ripening Syrah, the challenges of 2022 were different. "We lost five or six Brix after the heat spikes," Andrew Murray relayed. "We had good sugars, but phenolic ripeness lagged, so we had to wait it out."

Alice Anderson’s Âmevive is one of several new projects in Santa Barbara that is making waves.

2023: So Far, So Good

It is very early, but the 2023s I have tasted so far point to a potentially outstanding vintage. That is certainly true of the whites, some of which are in bottle. It was a late year, in some places the latest harvest in recent times. “Two thousand twenty-three was completely different from 2022,” Sashi Moorman explained at Domaine de la Côte. “It was cool all the way through, one of the coldest years we have seen since 2011 with a very late harvest. We did not start picking until late September. There was no rush to pick, no rapid accumulation of sugars.”

At this stage, I am cautiously optimistic. Cool, late-ripening years can be tough in naturally colder regions, especially for reds, as the wines remain intensely savory and not fully developed in flavor profile. Cold years can also be difficult for producers who use whole clusters because the stems don’t ripen fully. It will be interesting to see how things develop in the coming 12 months.

Some of the highlights from ten days of tasting in Santa Barbara.

A Broken Record

At the risk of repeating myself, yet again, I can’t underscore how undervalued Santa Barbara is by the wider public. One of the reasons for that is Santa Barbara suffers from a lack of a clear identity. For better or worse, when consumers think of Napa Valley, they think Cabernet Sauvignon. In Sonoma, the image that often comes to mind is Russian River Pinot Noir. Santa Barbara offers an extreme level of diversity that is an asset in many ways, but that also makes a simple definition of the region next to impossible. As a result, many wines and top estates don’t get the recognition they deserve. For the consumer, this means the wines are very well-priced. Santa Barbara remains one of my go-to regions when I find myself in a restaurant with a pricey list, as I know I will probably find something good that does not cost a fortune.

Last but certainly not least, Santa Barbara is a fabulous wine destination for curious oenophiles who want to discover something new or who have perhaps already visited some of the more famous regions in the United States. Over the last few years, the quality of restaurants has gone through the roof, adding another compelling reason to spend a few days in the region.

Richard Sanford at Alma Rosa discussing his long, storied career over a bottle of his 1976 Pinot Noir Sanford & Benedict Vineyard, the first wine made in what would later be known as the Sta. Rita Hills.

Fires: A Narrow Escape

Producers were a bit on edge when I visited in mid-July, as fires had just started to recede. Several areas were evacuated in the days prior to my arrival. Fires came within 1-1.5 miles of major wine-producing areas, but fortunately, wind seems to have carried most of the smoke away from vineyards. Retardant spray was visible on the hillsides in several spots as I visited properties. Some estates reported the presence of ash. It will be interesting to see how this plays out, as knowledge of fire and how it affects wine quality remains limited.

Jeff Nelson and James Sparks turned out a gorgeous set of 2022s at Liquid Farm.

I tasted almost all the wines in this article during a series of estate visits and tastings with winemakers in July 2024. As always, this report includes a handful of producers who are based in neighboring appellations. A few wines had not been bottled at the time of my visit or arrived at our offices past our deadline. I will endeavor to add reviews for those wines shortly.

© 2024, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or re-distributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright, but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.

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