Santa Barbara: An In-Depth Look at the 2018s

BY ANTONIO GALLONI | AUGUST 07, 2020

Readers will find a wealth of superb wines to explore in this year’s crop of new releases from Santa Barbara. A mix of established producers upping their games and younger winemakers building their reputations are at the heart of one of the most dynamic regions anywhere in the world. The 2018 harvest gave producers the raw materials to make stunning wines that capture the promise I sensed when I first started tasting the vintage from barrel last year, but quality is variable in some, so a little care is essential.

Every year over the last decade I have welcomed the month of June, knowing it means a trip to Santa Barbara, always one of my favorite places to spend time in. I was especially looking forward to tasting the bottled 2018s given the superb quality of the wines I tasted last year. This year, a trip was not possible because of the global pandemic, so I tasted all of the wines at home, which presents a number of advantages; the biggest of which is the ability to revisit wines and taste them over the course of several hours, something that is, of course, not possible when tasting on site. Technology and shipping have made it possible to both speak with producers one on one and taste wines from barrel, if desired. 

Pence, on the far eastern edge of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA, is one of the emerging estates in Santa Barbara.

A Brief Overview of Santa Barbara County

As Vinous readers know, Santa Barbara is a wonderfully diverse region that excels with a wide range of grapes. The western edge of Santa Barbara benefits from close proximity to the Pacific Ocean, and is marked by cool microclimates that are ideal for the cultivation of Burgundian varieties. Both the Sta. Rita Hills and Santa Maria Valley are packed with vineyard sites that are capable of yielding world-class Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah. Conditions become warmer moving east, and that, in turn, results in a number of appellations that are especially well suited to Bordeaux varieties, both red and white, in Los Olivos, Happy Canyon and the broader Santa Ynez Valley AVA. Ballard Canyon is nested within the Santa Ynez Valley AVA and centrally located in the southern part of Santa Barbara County. Rhône varieties thrive in Ballard Canyon, where the central location results in wines that combine the savoriness of cooler sites with the more generous fruit of the eastern side of the region.