Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/522996
76 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } JUNE/JULY 2015 of apple-crisp perfumes, plus a slightly saline, mineral texturing that Talley winemaker Eric Johnson described as another marker of Edna Valley–grown fruit. The Talley approach, consistently applied to all their wines, is predisposed towards terroir- related distinctions, as opposed to a monogamous varietal fruit profile. According to Johnson, "We're pretty much Burgundian—100% native yeast, going to barrel 'dirty' [i.e., leaving juice in contact with phenolic solids], sur lie, malolactic—which helps us get a better picture of the fruit we get from individual vineyards." Talley's best known plantings are located just over a lower ridge of the Santa Lucia Range separating Edna Valley from Arroyo Grande Valley, an AVA established in 1990. On a rocky, white calcareous clay hilltop where the original Rosemary's Vineyard plantings are located—still thriving, ungrafted, on their roots since 1987—we were treated to tastes of the austere yet viscous, concentrated (wet stone and lemon curd) Talley 2013 Rosemary's Vineyard Arroyo Grande Valley Chardonnay, and the fantastically perfumed (bushels of strawberry), scrubby, muscular yet silky Talley 2012 Rosemary's Vineyard Arroyo Grande Valley Pinot Noir. Closer to the Talley winery, the West Rincon and East Rincon Vineyards yield estate-bottled Chardonnay and Pinot Noir that are similar to Edna Valley's in terms of acid backbone, but less lavish in soft fruit and sturdier in mineral texturing. Cases in point: the stone and mushroomy notes we tasted in the fragrant, tart edged Talley 2013 Rincon Vineyard Arroyo Grande Valley Chardonnay; and the almost garrigue-like scrubbiness pervading the zesty, perfumey Talley 2012 Rincon Vineyard Arroyo Grande Valley Pinot Noir. Brian Talley explained to us, "In degree days and overall temperature, Arroyo Grande Valley is the same as Edna Valley. But because we're even closer to the coast in Arroyo Grande Valley, we never experience as many highs during the growing season as Edna Valley." Translating the differences in the wines, Talley adds, "The key distinction between Arroyo Grande Valley and Edna Valley is minerality. In Chardonnay, Arroyo Grande Valley is characterized by citrus and mineral notes; Edna Valley by tropical fruit. In Pinot Noir, I think the Edna Valley wines are silkier and fruit driven; Arroyo Grande Valley, a little more angular with an iron note." Talley's remarks were borne out in a formal tasting that followed our vineyard walks and a Talley Farms-to-table lunch: an "SLO Chardonnay Focus," giving us a chance to compare four 2013 Edna Valley Chardonnays with a 2013 from Arroyo Grande Valley and a 2013 from the unofficial "San Luis Obispo Coast." Wines like the Edna Valley Vineyard 2013 Heritage Edna Valley Chardonnay and the Niner Estate 2013 Jespersen Ranch Edna Valley Chardonnay seemed to epitomize the full, tart, yet lavish, almost tropical fruit qualities of Edna Valley, whereas the Talley Vineyards 2013 Estate Arroyo Grande Valley Chardonnay focused more on the lemon curd/mineral spectrum of the varietal. And as expected, the Sinor-LaVallee 2013 San Luis Obispo Chardonnay, grown barely a mile from Avila Beach, came across as an outlier—lean, sharp, almost meager in its stony, steely character, but with its own, compelling character. Our final stop on this day was at Niner Wine Estates' Jespersen Ranch, located in the upper northwest corner of Edna Valley, where chilling wind from Morro Bay can pick up near gale- force strength on its way through the rest of the AVA. This is what makes Jespersen Ranch, in Steve Dooley's words, "a high-acid vineyard." Niner's Associate Winemaker, Molly Bohlman, tasted us through barrel samples of destemmed, partial whole-cluster and added-dried stem cuvées of 2014 Pinot Noir—all marked by electric acidity and ebulliently fruited, raspberry/ strawberry perfumes, in sharp contrast to the more gentle Pinot Noirs grown a little further to the east (in vineyards like Stone Corral and Center of Effort). In a farm-to-table tour de force that followed, Niner Wine Estate's Executive Chef Maegen Loring tasted us on her shrimp-kumquat ceviche on plan- tain chip, beautifully matched to an airy fresh, zippy Niner Estate 2014 Edna Valley Albariño, bursting with the guava/white peach fragrance that seems to typify the varietal grown in this region. A chicken liver porcini paté on crostini seemed to bring out lavender and pepper notes in an otherwise puristic, feathery, zesty, buoyant, raspberry-scented Niner Estate 2013 Edna Valley Pinot Noir. Eric Johnson, Winemaker for Talley Vineyards. Andy Niner, proprietor, Niner Wine Estates. Niner Wine Estate's Executive Chef Maegen Loring treated the team to some imaginative dishes to pair with selected wines.