Santa Cruz Mountains – The 2015s and 2014s

BY ANTONIO GALLONI | AUGUST 31, 2017

Once again, I came away deeply impressed with the wines I tasted during my annual visit to the Santa Cruz Mountains. Rugged hillside sites and an extraordinary range of microclimates confer tremendous personality to Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah and red Bordeaux varieties. There is little doubt the finest Santa Cruz Mountains wines are world-class in every way.

2015 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay

Mother Nature was extremely hard on growers in 2015. Poor weather during flowering decimated yields throughout the region. Losses were regularly north of 50%. Yields were especially punishing for Pinot Noir, to the point that several estates, including Rhys and Fogarty, were not able to bottle some of their vineyard and block designates. Warm and dry weather during what turned out to be a brutal drought cycle accelerated ripening and condensed the harvest, which made picking decisions critical. Where they could, producers opted to pick early to preserve freshness. More challenges awaited in the wineries. Tiny clusters made sorting out whole clusters nearly impossible, while other growers were virtually obligated to use more stems than normal to fill their tanks. Interestingly, in tasting, it is the Chardonnays that reflect the personality of the vintage more than the Pinots. Quite a few Chardonnays feel distorted and too big for their frames. The 2015 Pinots are generally dark and rich, but as a group offer better balance than the Chardonnays.