current releases
Our current releases are those wines which we believe are
ready to drink and enjoy with a meal. Oftentimes we will hold
and cellar a wine after it has been bottled, tasting until
flavors, acids and tannins are well integrated and not releasing
the wine until that time.
Celestina
Pinot Grigio 2009
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$18 per bottle |
$48.60 for 3 bottles |
 Pink-orange
in color like a California sunset. The nose suggestively
offers strawberry, peach and a medley of opulent, bright
fruit aromas. In the mouth the wine is tangy with vibrant
acidity and superb concentration. Refreshing citrus and white
fruit flavors lead to a crisp, dry finish. This is an excellent
summer aperitif that pairs well with food. Especially good
with greens and first course fare such radicchio and arugula,
as well as with grilled vegetables, including artichoke and
asparagus.
The juice of traditionally vinified Pinot Grigio is
pressed whole cluster and then fermented to produce a white
wine. The Pinot Grigio in this bottle was de-stemmed and
allowed to cold soak on its own reddish-pink skins to extract
more flavor as well as color, prior to pressing and fermentation
in oak barrels.
Click
here for printable winemaking and tasting notes.
Salsipuedes
Pinot Noir 2008 |
$25 per bottle |
$67.50 for 3 bottles |
 For
the 2008 Point Concepción Salsipuedes Pinot
Noir , we selected from the most fruit-forward and approachable
barrels of our Cargasacchi-Jalama vineyard production, that
were not vineyard designated for the Cargasacchi label. But,
in a vintage characterized by low yields and concentration,
this is not your typical fruit bomb. The nose is bright with
tealeaf and wild berry fruit, however depending on your mood;
it can show a hint of sage and even violets. In tasting, the
fruit’s character is ripe, juicy and upfront amid black
cherry, blackberry and plum flavors that are mouth coating
and full bodied with a core of mineral and chewy texture underneath.
The tannins are big and earthy, showing characteristics of
white pepper that is typically exhibited by fruit from this
vineyard every vintage, along with sweet leather and spicy
crimson tea in the long finish. Though fruity and upfront
there is a firm undercurrent of structure to this wine that
is complex and adds to its enjoyment.
In all its opulent fruit-forward character, flavor and richness,
this is a bottle to open and drink by itself. Nevertheless,
the structure behind this wine will make you want to pop and
pour it with a nice steak, cut of lamb or other rich food.
Enjoy!
“Flee—if you can.” The headwaters of
Santa Barbara County’s Salsipuedes Canyon begin a few
miles northeast of Point Conception. This maritime influenced
drainage flows north as a tributary to the Santa Ynez River.
The name Salsipuedes originated as a warning and traces back
to mounted banditos who preyed upon early California travelers
on the way between Mission La Purisima Concepción and
Gaviota. Those using the Gaviota pass often found the longer
inland route along the Santa Ynez River and Nojoqui Creek
was a safer passage.
Click
here for printable winemaking and tasting notes.
Caponera
Chardonnay 2008 |
$20 per bottle |
$54 for 3 bottles |
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 As
beautiful as it is delicious, this is a visually dramatic
wine of golden hue, suggesting ripe flavors and aromatics
that are delivered emphatically in the nose and mouth. The
nose reveals aromatics of spicy apple, crème brulée
and hints of honey/beeswax. The 2008 Caponera did
not finish malo-lactic, resulting in big mouth feel and a
very clean finish with green apple, white peach and citrus.
This is an expressive, food friendly wine that is balanced
and bright, with minerality and fresh acidity. Easy drinking,
refreshing and delicious alone or complimenting food.
Marching from Monterey to recapture Santa Barbara in
1846, at Rancho Nipomo Colonel Fremont made the error of seizing
both the remuda and family pet horses - leaving behind the
elderly Caponera (lead mare). Following the soldiers, the
rancheros with the Caponera found Fremont camped near Foxen
Canyon. Carefully using the breeze and dark December night,
the old mare was maneuvered so her scent carried to Fremont’s
remuda. The exhausted guards could not prevent the stampede
that followed the Caponera back to Rancho Nipomo. Only years
later did Fremont learn how he had been outwitted by the savvy
rancheros and a long forgotten lead mare.
Click
here for printable winemaking and tasting notes.
Cuvée
Jalama Syrah 2005 |
$20 per bottle |
$54 for 3 bottles |
 "This
Syrah is a blend from several selected vineyards on the Central
Coast. Dark fruit again on the nose, with boysenberry and
dark cherry prominent and some more pure fruit flavors in
the mix as well. This Syrah is balanced and well-knit together
at this point. It has a hard core of fruit that’s not
going away anytime soon, but it’s only showing you what’s
on the surface right now, which makes it a great candidate
for buying a few bottles for aging in your cellar. "
Dennis Schaefer. Wine Columnist
The name Jalama originates from the Purisemeno Chumash
village "Xalam" meaning bundle. Although the precise
location of this indigenous Canalino people's village site
is lost to history, its position near Point Concepción
is inferred from journals and artifacts including a Spanish
Mission period wine fermenter and an ancient, south-facing
olive grove believed to be the second-oldest in California.
Click
here for printable winemaking and tasting notes.
Encantado
Syrah 2005 |
$18 per bottle |
$48.60 for 3 bottles |
 "Blended
with eight percent Viognier, this Syrah is very big on the
nose, with dark fruit, bacon fat and white florals. Whoa!
One taste tells you this is a big boy of Syrah. It is jam-packed
with rich flavors of dark plum, boysenberry, bacon fat and
white pepper. A huge wine that’s very extracted and
highly concentrated. It’s so lush that you will not
be able to think about anything else for at least a half an
hour. An incredible best buy."
Dennis Schaefer. Wine Columnist
Mountainous and bisected by coastal ranges, California's
Central Coast is an enchanted place. Broken by a few large
valleys and the narrow coastal shelf, the land is primarily
made up of sandstones, shales and conglomerates with inter-bedded
volcanic rock. Sea breezes, fogs and a prevailing onshore
maritime airflow temper the climate. The parental influences
of the topography, soils and climates lend themselves to the
creation of enchanting, food-friendly wines such as this Syrah.
Click
here for printable winemaking and tasting notes.
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