Santa Cruz Mountains – A Study in Terroir

The Santa Cruz Mountains remains one of the most distinctive appellations in California, with an ever-increasing
number of world-class Chardonnays, Pinots and Cabernet Sauvignons that
merit serious attention. 

<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1404390361042-SCMBigBasin_2.jpg"> Big
Basin’s estate vineyard, with the Rattlesnake Rock parcel and winery below

Stanford’s campus, Silicon Valley,
major highways and a number of other landmarks are all visible from high-up on the ridges that form the Santa Cruz Mountains, yet this collection
of rugged hillside vineyards remains quite isolated, almost completely detached
from the bustling world below. The San Andreas Fault runs right through the
Santa Cruz Mountains and acts as a natural border between the cooler, western
part of the appellation, where Burgundian varieties thrive, and the more
inland, eastern side of the region, which is more hospitable to Bordeaux
varieties. Over the last few years a handful of top winemakers from outside the
immediate area have begun sourcing fruit here, including Wind Gap, Ceritas and
Arnot-Roberts. Their wines serve to
further illustrate the huge potential and sheer greatness these sites are capable of.

<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1404390345327-SCM_Rhys.jpg"> Tasting
through the 2013 Rhys Pinots

Most of the wines I tasted on my
most recent trip were from the 2012 vintage, a growing season that rewarded producers with much more favorable conditions and a
more generous crop than 2011. These steep, hillside sites are already quite
marginal in normal years. Cool, late-ripening years such as 2011&nbsp;can push things to the
limit. In 2012 however, producers benefited from a long, relaxed summer with
plenty of sunshine and&nbsp;no&nbsp;heat spikes or other shocks. The 2012s are radiant and
expressive. Yields were on the generous side for the Santa Cruz Mountains,
which only means average in terms of&nbsp;what would be considered normal elsewhere around
the world. Because the yields are essentially normal in this vintage,&nbsp;I did not taste as many diluted 2012s in the Santa Cruz
Mountains as I encountered elsewhere throughout the Central Coast.

<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1404390387437-SCM_Albutom.jpg"> Above and&nbsp;Cover: Fogarty’s
Albutom Chardonnay vineyard. Note the wide spacing and terracing typical of
older sites in the Santa Cruz Mountains&nbsp;

<a target="_blank" href="http://goo.gl/dlGggq">View All Santa Cruz Mountains Wines</a>

Further Reading

<a target="_blank" href="http://vinousmedia.com/articles/santa-cruz-mountains-california-s-best-kept-secret-jul-2013">Santa
Cruz Mountains: California’s Best Kept Secret</a>

<a target="_blank" href="http://vinousmedia.com/articles/california-s-central-coast-better-than-ever-aug-2012">California’s
Central Coast: Better than Ever</a>

<a target="_blank" href="http://vinousmedia.com/articles/exploring-california-s-central-coast-aug-2011">Exploring
California’s Central Coast</a>-- Antonio Galloni

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