2020 Sparkling Riesling

Situated just north of the AVA boundary, Odonata is one of the few production facilities/tasting rooms in the area. Proprietor/winemaker Denis Hoey began his career at Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard and started Odonata in 2005. The project features a wide array of bottlings from SLH, Santa Cruz Mountains and several other Central Coast appellations. Without question, Hoey’s strength lies in his deftly handled, Northern-Rhône-style Syrahs. All three 2021 Syrahs I tasted for this report—single-vineyard bottlings from Sierra Mar, Escolle and Soberanes—are fantastic, with a special nod to the Sierra Mar. Each co-fermented with a couple of bins of Viognier from the Odonata estate, they aged in 500-liter puncheons with subtle whole-cluster inclusion—an approach that really allowed each site to shine. Best of all, these wines are all a killer value.