The Santa Lucia Highlands 2011s: Chardonnay
Reigns Supreme

Chardonnay reigns supreme among new
releases from the Santa Lucia Highlands. The 2011 vintage brought with it
pretty much the same challenges faced by growers across California; namely poor
flowering and a long, cool, growing season with no heat spikes at all. Overall,
Chardonnay is the most consistent variety, while Pinot and Syrah are much more
uneven. 

Although the Santa Lucia Highlands
is generally regarded as one region, in reality there can be significant
differences between the southern and northern ends of this strip of vineyards.
In 2011, growers reported cooler and wetter conditions in the north, but
slightly more favorable weather in the south. One of the best performing sites
was Gary Franscioni’s Sierra Mar (pictured on the cover), which benefitted from
higher altitude plots where the greater exposure to the sun was a help in
drying out the rain.&nbsp;

The 2011 Santa Lucia Highlands
Chardonnays are beautiful wines that will drink well right out of the gate.
Like most 2011 California Chardonnays, the wines have substantial energy and
focus, but in the Santa Lucia Highlands the Chardonnays also show the distinct
floral and lightly tropical-infused notes that are one of the signatures of the
appellation.

Readers will have to be more
selective when it comes to Pinot Noir and Syrah. Cold, windy weather during
flowering resulted in a poor set. Growers reported that the Pinot crop set late
and also ripened late, while Syrah set closer to its normal time frame, but
ripened earlier than normal. By far the biggest challenge in 2011 was a long,
cool growing season with considerable rain. Daytime temperatures never exceeded
85 degrees, nor was there anything even approaching a heat spike all summer long.&nbsp;

The harvest took place within a
fairly constricted, narrow range of just a few weeks, with most of the fruit
coming in from mid-September to mid-October. When I tasted the 2011s last year
my impression was that a lot of wines tasted like they were made from fruit
that never fully ripened because the window to harvest closed before optimal
maturity was reached. That impression was confirmed this year. It is a vintage
where growers who were extremely selective with their single-vineyard bottlings
excelled, as much of the juice was honestly better suited to appellation-level
wines. The 2011 Pinots and Syrahs are generally forward and should be enjoyed
sooner rather than later.<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1378421657533-NewPhotoforSLH+-+vinous+-+Copy.jpg"> [Above: Sierra Mar Vineyard] 

Santa Lucia Highlands: State of the Union

Within a global context, there is little
doubt viticulture and winemaking remain very much in their infancy in the Santa
Lucia Highlands. It is important to remember that up until recently this part
of California was much better known for growing lettuce than high-quality wines
grapes. The first vineyards were developed only in the 1970s. Larger, outside
wineries followed in the 1980s and 1990s, attracted by cheap land and plenty of
room for expansion. But most of the credit for the boom in high quality
production, and the resulting widespread attention from the media and consumers
that followed, belongs to the first generation of local farming families,
including the Pisonis and Franscionis, and the winemakers who first bought
fruit from them.

Today, things are totally
different. Growers are now putting their experience to use in a newer, second
generation of vineyards that have been developed over the last few years. Those
vineyards – specifically I am thinking of sites like Soberanes and Sierra Mar –
are among the most exciting because they reflect all that has been learned over
the years. Clonal selection, row orientation, vine density and a number of
other variables are now getting much more attention and care. There is no doubt
in my mind the best wines from the Santa Lucia Highlands have yet to be made. The
quality that producers have achieved so far is nothing short of remarkable, but
it will probably take another generation or so before we truly understand the
potential of these sites.

Central Coast Coverage

As I have done for the last two
years, once again this year I am dividing Central Coast coverage into several
smaller articles in order to give greater focus to each of the specific regions
that make up this vast set of appellations that essentially spans just north of
Los Angeles to just south of San Francisco. An article on the wines of Paso
Robles will follow next week to round out published reviews on the wines of
<a target="_blank" href="http://vinousmedia.com/articles/santa-barbara-new-releases-jul-2013">Santa Barbara</a>, the <a target="_blank" href="http://vinousmedia.com/articles/santa-cruz-mountains-california-s-best-kept-secret-jul-2013">Santa Cruz Mountains</a> and the Santa Lucia Highlands. All of
the wines in this article were tasted in June 2013.

-- Antonio Galloni 

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