Santa Barbara’s Stunning 2011s

By Antonio Galloni

Santa Barbara County is one of the unquestioned stars of California’s 2011 vintage. Freakish, highly unusual weather conditions produced a set of fragrant, resonant, beautifully delineated Chardonnays, Syrahs and Pinots loaded with class and pedigree. Overall, the 2011s have lower alcohols and higher acidities than California wine lovers have become accustomed to in recent years. Wine isn't made by numbers, though, and it is a mistake to give too much importance to analytical figures alone. The best 2011s are gorgeous, drop-dead wines that fully capture the personalities of Santa Barbara’s top sites. Readers who want to learn more about the vintage might enjoy these video interviews with Chad Melville and Paul Lato.

The 2011 growing season got off to a rocky start. A severe frost in early April wreaked havoc on production by lowering yields dramatically, especially in the Sta. Rita Hills. Windy conditions during flowering made things even more difficult by reducing crop levels even further. As always, it is hard to generalize about weather because events such as frost can devastate one vineyard and leave a neighboring parcel untouched, but overall, the spring and early summer were not kind to growers.

Broadly speaking, yields are down a whopping 40-50%, the kind of numbers that give accountants ulcers. In retrospect, though, the low crop loads turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The remainder of the growing season was quite cool and wet; with no periods of any real heat whatsoever during the summer, but less rain than in northern California. A normal crop would have never ripened in 2011, but nature has a way of establishing balance, which is exactly what the frost and irregular flowering did. 

The harvest was delayed by a few weeks and stretched into November for Syrah, exceedingly late by any standard. Sugars and therefore potential alcohols were a full percentage point lower than normal, while acidities were correspondingly higher, but the reduced yields allowed quality minded growers to achieve fully developed flavors. The best 2011s show plenty of depth and stuffing allied to vibrant minerality. It is a style I personally find highly appealing. I am not alone, but more on that later.

Now that I have tasted the 2011s in all of California’s major appellations, it is looking increasingly likely Santa Barbara County will turn out to be the most successful region within the state in this much misunderstood and wrongly maligned vintage.  Once again, I was deeply impressed and frankly inspired by the risk taking, entrepreneurial spirit of the younger generation of winemakers who are driving so many of the new projects that are taking off in Santa Barbara and the Central Coast as a whole.

Within Santa Barbara, 2011 is most consistent with Chardonnay, generally a hearty grape that was able to withstand the stresses of the year reasonably well. Readers will find a number of fabulous Chardonnays from all of the appellations in Santa Barbara County. The cooler conditions were also favorable for Sauvignon Blancs, most of which have been on the market since last year. In general, the Chardonnays from Santa Barbara have more depth than those of Sonoma, because the spring frost concentrated flavors to a greater degree than was the case farther north. Simply put, 2011 is a top-flight vintage for Santa Barbara Chardonnay.