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Steve Heimoff (Wine Enthusiast) Writes About the Santa Rita Hills AVA and Wes Hagen:

"In California (as everywhere), wine regions want to be thought of as special. A region that’s perceived as special can charge more money for their wines, which in turn lets them invest in their viticulture and enology and make the wines even better. This is why every wine region in California is secretly jealous of Napa Valley (not that they’d admit it).

But not every wine region can be special. It’s a law of the universe. In this day and age of marketing, though, wine regions do the most amazing things to promote themselves as special. They form regional associations, charge dues, and hire publicists to, well, publicize their attributes and paint them in the best possible light. Nothing wrong with that. If you’re a wine region and you don’t blow your own horn, you’ve got a problem.

Which makes it all the more remarkable when a new wine region comes on the scene and achieves fame even before they have a functioning association and with hardly lifting a finger to promote themselves. I’m talking about the Santa Rita Hills appellation of Santa Barbara County’s Santa Ynez Valley.

Sta. Rita Hills (as the name must appear on the label to avoid a conflict of interest with Chile’s Santa Rita Winery) is probably most famous as the main location of the movie Sideways, but that film did not create SRH’s fame. I can’t even recall that the words “Santa Rita Hills” were ever uttered in the movie. (If anyone knows, please tell me.) Besides, wine critics are not about to salivate over a wine region simply because it’s in a movie.

No, the critics began praising SRH in the ‘90s, and the pace has simply accelerated in the 2000s. Today, I think it’s safe to say that SRH stands as one of the greatest places in the New World to grow Pinot Noir (and they do a great job at Chardonnay and Syrah and Pinot Gris and perhaps one or two others).

And they got there on their own — not with fancy marketing packages and press kits and events with celebrity auctioneers. Not with spin and hype. Not by luring in big spenders with resorts and great restaurants and golf courses. They did it the old-fashioned way: They earned it. (I can still hear John Houseman saying those words.)

They earned it through the dogged efforts of people like Richard Sanford, who was there (with his partner, Michael Benedict) when everyone else thought they were crazy. They did it through the pioneering of guys like Brian Babcock …through the vision and hard work of a younger generation of idealists, like Greg Brewer, Steve Clifton, Wes Hagen and Kathy Joseph. They put the Santa Rita Hills on the world wine map for the most fundamental reason of all: the quality of the wines.

It’s an important lesson for California’s other wine regions (there are more than 100 AVAs, with more on the way). Quality comes first. Figure out what you do better than anyone else, and then do it. Fame will surely follow."

Clos Pepe Estate Wines Wes Hagen (Vineyardist/Winemaker) Has Tasted Recently:

(Tasted Spring, 2008. Wines with links are available for sale.)

2006 Pinot Noir 'Vigneron Select' (Sold Out) : Tight and oaky with great purity of fruit and impeccable structure. Needs at least 3-5 years to fully integrate--a few years longer than the regular 2006 because of higher French Oak tones. SOLD OUT

2006 Pinot Noir : If you have to commit infanticide on this one, decant overnight! The longer the bottle stays open, the better this wine gets. Nose is beautifully expressive, even this early. Blackberry, strawberry and blueberry with lots of baking spice. Great acid and some fine tannins. No middle to speak of yet--needs 2 years of cellaring to start strutting it's pedigree. One for the cellar!

2006 Chardonnay (No Oak, Sold Out) : My favorite 'Hommage to Chablis' to date at release. A bit riper than the 2005 and a bit more of a balanced mouthful of minerals, fruit and acidity. Fresh, apple-pear characters and loads and loads of structure. Drinking nicely, but needs a few years at least to let the mid-palate emerge and the minerals/acid to be balanced with the richness. This is as tight as it will ever be.

2005 Pinot Noir: (Written 7/2008):  “The 2005 Clos Pepe Estate Pinot Noir is beginning to live up to my hopes for the 2005 vintage.  There are years when the growing and the winemaking is effortless…when the crew gets the work done on time, the weather cooperates, and the wines ferment and age without a lot of fuss.  I’ve been waiting three years to start tasting what was hidden below all the primary fruit and the hint of French oak.  The wine is turning a big corner this Spring and Summer—developing some wonderful earthy notes in the nose.  The blackberry and strawberry are turning toward dusty black cherry and forest floor.  The midpalate, relieved of its diminishing baby fat, is beginning to speak about soil and fog and winds—and dedicated craft in the field and in the cellar.  The wine rocks with anything game—those critters we eat far too rarely—venison, elk, antelope, quail, duck, pheasant.  It’s delicate enough for poached salmon and rich enough for a simple preparation of lamb.  Also delicious with more tangy and vibrant cheeses—Bosina, Rochetta, and less ripe Tomme de Savoie have been nice matches I’ve enjoyed recently.  Dark, rich garnet color, nice mineral mouthfeel with good fruit and complex length in the finish…great acidity as always.  No water, acid or enzymes —100% Clos Pepe pinot noir fruit, farmed sustainably without herbicide, insecticide or restricted materials.  Blend of 115, 777 and 667 Clones from hillside plantings. 14.4% alcohol and 1/3 new French oak barrels for 11 months.  I see no reason why this wine can’t go another 5-10 years in a proper cellar—but most will be consumed gleefully in the next 2 years.”

2004 Pinot Noir (Sold Out):This wine is slowly coming into its prime. From a hot, ripe vintage the wine was generous early and may not have the capacity to age like the 2005 and 2006's (cooler vintages). Expect a mouthful of spicy black-cherry fruit, amazing complexity in the mid-palate and a fresh, structured finish. Secondary bottle-aged notes begin to emerge--earthiness, sage-like underbrush, cola-nut and a hint of cherry sweetness in the finish. A hint of heat in the finish will remind you of the sunny warmth of the 2004 Fall.

2003 Pinot Noir (Sold Out): The last two 2003's I've tasted have been very different, and this wine is very susceptible to bottle variation--especially bottles that have not been stored correctly. At best the wine is really beginning to show beautifully--mature armoas of dried cherry, quite intense, with smoky minerals, great length and both fresh and mature. The other bottle was a bit barnyardy and flat to me. If this wine is in your cellar, take one out and give it a try!

2002 Pinot Noir (Sold Out): Approaching maturity--big, expressive and delicious. Definitely in the 'drinking window', and I suggest it will be drinking well for at least anothe 2-5 years.

2001 Pinot Noir (Sold Out): Another wine to pull out and try, a beautifully balanced and elegant wine that is really showing gorgeously at table. In the drinking window for sure..will benefit from a few more years, and it may be a wine that will last 10-15 years if properly cellared. Try one with duck confit or some Epoisses cheese.

2000 Pinot Noir (Sold Out): A wine in its prime. I keep thinking it's going to fade, but it keeps impressing me with its longevity, balance, complexity and freshness. I'm really in love with this wine, and given the chance to have any wine I've made at a good meal, this one wins the prize as of January, 2008.

Soon: I'll go through the Chardonnays. Guess I'm a bit of a Pinot slut in the Spring.