Wine Tasting Notes
Lafond Winery & Santa Barbara Winery
Founder Pierre Lafond is one of the pioneers of Santa Barbara County wine making and his winery is part of local and wine history. He founded the winery in 1962 originally sourcing his grapes from what is now York Mountain Winery in Templeton. Originally the owner of a wine and cheese shop, Lafond combined his love of wine and entrepreneurial ambitions in founding Santa Barbara Winery. After the establishment of the Nielsen Vineyard, two years later, Lafond began to source his fruit from local wineries. Because of growing demand, he purchased 105 acres in the western end of the Santa Ynez Valley - his current estate - and planted it to Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Riesling which gave the firs usable crop in 1975. With time, more acres of Pinot Noir were added, especially with the purchase of 30 acres across the road from the original property. Syrah was added to the estate. After removal (after 2005) of the remaining 7 acres of Zinfandel (planted in 1972), there are just under 96 acres under vine in the Lafond Vineyards: 39 acres of Pinot Noir, 20 acres of Chardonnay, Just under 14 acres of White Riesling (Riesling), just under 13 acres of Syrah, almost 3 acres of Sauvignon Blanc and just over 2 acres of Grenache. Currently, the annual production under the Santa Barbara/Lafond labels totals some 45,000 cases. The estate supplies only half of the fruit needed for annual production and the remainder is sourced from other growers.
The Lafond Vineyards and winery are located off Santa Rosa Road in the southeastern corner of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA. This is the warmer portion of the generally cool appellation. There is a strong marine influence in the form of cool winds and ocean fog. This affords the grapes more time on the vine and, with the longer exposure, increased depth and spectrum of colors, aromas and flavors.
Bruce McGuire has been the winemaker at Santa Barbara Winery since 1981. He came down from Napa attracted by the reputation of Santa Barbara County Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. On arrival, the vineyard's acreage of Pinot Noir was expanded and winery facilities and equipment were upgraded. In addition to the mainstays of the label, he makes small lots of Carignan, Nebbiolo, Sangiovese and Viognier. Generally, wines from the Santa Barabara Winery and Lafond Winery labels are released with a little more bottle age than most others in the area. The whites tend to be more are more mineral, the Pinots are usually released with more bottle age tend to be a bit more evolved.
2005 Lafond Syrah Santa Rita Hills 87 Points
2003 Santa Barbara Winery Zinfandel Essence, Lafond Vineyard 89 Points
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