Au Bon Climat Pinot Gris/Pinot Blanc Santa Maria Valley 2021

Description

A refreshing, dry, blended white with citrus lemon/lime notes, flinty minerality, and crisp finish. It is richer than most light whites, yet so easy drinking! Great for casual sippin' and a crowd pleaser with shellfish, roast chicken, turkey or duck.

Au Bon Climat is a Burgundy-centric winery, meaning if the grapes aren’t grown in Burgundy, then Au Bon Climat doesn’t make that type of wine. Wineries in Burgundy are limited to Aligoté, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, and Chardonnay for white wines. Starting in 1990 Au Bon Climat made Pinot Blanc from old vines planted at Bien Nacido. Pinot Gris was planted at Bien Nacido, after experimental planting showed favorable results, in 1994. Our first Pinot Gris, the 1995 vintage was made from these small experimental plantings.

Most of the Pinot Gris in the 2020 Pinot Gris/Pinot Blanc is from Sierra Madre Vineyard. Sierra Madre Vineyard is one of the oldest vineyards in the Santa Maria Valley. The long history of Sierra Madre started in the early 1970s and has changed hands 5 times since in the last 40 years. Mondavi owned the vineyard for five years in late 1990s. Mondavi had capital to invest, since they had just gone public, Sierra Madre vineyard benefitted greatly from the few years of Mondavi ownership and investment in the vineyard. Known for the varieties Pinot Noir and Chardonnay there are only 12 acres

The Au Bon Climat 2021 Pinot Gris/Pinot Blanc is a versatile wine. It is light and refreshing making a good choice for an aperitif. It has enough body and intensity to go with food as well. The minerality and acidity make this a great wine for shellfish of any kind but it is also delightful with roast chicken, turkey or pastas with a light béchamel sauce. The aromas are salty, mineral with a lemon-lime note. In the mouth the wine is rich and textural, from the time spent on lees in the barrel. Au Bon Climat makes a longer barrel aged version of this wine called Hildegard which is a blend of Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and Aligoté, with more oak influence, and more barrel, and bottle age. If you like our Pinot Gris/Pinot Blanc blends, on a special occasion, try our Hildegard. Winemaker notes