The Tasting Panel magazine

afternoon winds blow from March to Octo- ber, keeping the vines virtually free from rot and improving the performance of sustain- able treatments like Stylit, a paraffi nic oil that Kelley uses to control mildew. Practices such as under-row cultivation and alternating row cover, as well as careful canopy management techniques like shearing, are used to control vigor and ripening across dozens of microcli- mates in each vineyard site. As blocks other than those dedicated to the reserve program are machine-harvested, state-of-the-art technology, including the Pellenc "Selective" harvester, plays an important role in deliver- ing clean fruit to the crusher. By sorting in the fi eld with the Pellenc system, Kelley can forgo the equipment and labor costs associ- ated with hand-sorting. Style and Substance From its earliest days in 1986, when Chilean Augustin Huneeus purchased the Paul Masson vineyard ranches and fi rst planted the now-famous Pinnacles Vineyard to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Estancia has never been short on style. The winery devel- oped a signature Chardonnay that relies on 25 percent new American oak and a small percentage of Hungarian oak, a style from which Kelley has not deviated. "Our Essen- tial tier Chardonnay is a food wine," says the winemaker; "we are still at 50 percent ML in the blend, and the coconut signature of the American oak complements the tropi- cal fruit fl avors that are characteristic of our terroir." The 2008 release combines lemon- infused vanilla custard and ripe pineapple, underscored with a focused minerality and bright, clean fi nish. Pinot Grigio is one of Kelley's newest varietal bottlings and the winery's fi rst release under a screwcap closure, as part of Estancia's Contemporary Series. The wine has been a runaway success and it's easy to see why—creamy aromas of white peach and pear give way to wet stone, ripe Meyer lemon zest and minerals on a concentrated mid-palate. "My challenge was how to come up with a concentrated wine," said Kelley, who sourced 60 percent of his fruit from Monterey and the remainder from Lodi. With sales of domestic Pinot Grigio growing by 50 percent over the last 12 months, it's likely that value-minded consumers are forgoing pricy imports and selecting trusted on-premise brands like Estancia. Kelley's Stonewall Vineyard Pinot Noir (SRP$29.99) is a dark, well-integrated wine with complex spice box aromas, an expres- sive mid-palate of savory black fruit and licorice anchored by elegant, fi ne-grained tannins. The use of small, open-top fermen- ters and frequent punch-downs gives Kelley precise control over extraction and the result- ing style. At 5,000 cases, Stonewall can sit side-by-side with the priciest, small-produc- tion Pinot Noirs in the Santa Lucia Highlands. The winery's reserve tier also includes a red Meritage, blended from 58 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 34 percent Merlot and 8 percent Petit Verdot; the 2007 release marks the winery's 20th consecutive vintage of this wine. Estancia was one of the found- ing members of the Meritage Society, which coined the term in 1988 to promote the qual- ity of domestic wines made from a blend of Bordeaux varieties. The 2006 release deliv- ers chocolaty black fruit, star anise, dried herbs and sweet oak tannins, a powerful reminder of the winery's heritage and the merits of blending. september 2009 / the tasting panel / 63

• Cover