Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/580744
{ SOMMjournal.com } 65 comed our sommeliers with a convoy of all-terrain vehicles, whisking them away on a rugged dirt road curling up to a dramatic hilltop overlooking the Salinas Valley, with the estate's famed Smith Vineyard and Hook Vineyard located to either side. There, the Hahn Family threesome went into detail on the terroir-related variations of their single-vineyard estate Pinot Noirs, all bottled under the Lucienne label—a reference to founder Nicky Hahn's middle name Lucien, plus St. Lucia, for whom the coastal mountains is named (it is Nicky Hahn who gets full credit for originally suggesting the name Santa Lucia Highlands for the AVA in the mid-1980s). The four different Lucienne Pinot Noirs are grown towards the north end of the appellation (Lone Oak Vineyards), towards the middle (Doctor's Vineyard) and in the south section of the AVA (Smith Vineyard and Hook Vineyard). Explained Clifton: "Our estate vineyards are about 15 miles apart. Temperatures are not greatly varied—Lone Oak towards the north may be more fog-influenced, but the wind is actually stronger towards the south because it picks up speed as the valley narrows. Wind and temperature are major factors, but variations in soil and elevations have just as much an impact on the wines." Mitchell added, "When wind picks up to 15 to 20 miles per hour, vines shut down, berry size gets smaller . . . so although our three windier sites towards the south see more sunlight at slightly higher elevations, grapes still retain good acidity and phenolics." With that, we sat down for a fascinating hilltop tasting of the four 2013 Lucienne estate-bottled Pinot Noirs. My notes on the single-vineyard bottlings, going from north to south: Lucienne 2013 Lone Oak Vineyards – The northernmost vineyard and normally last picked, growing on lower slopes (180– 500 feet) of classic SLH Chualar sandy loam; tight, meaty, savory and streamlined core of cherry fruit; viscous, acid-tingling qualities. Lucienne 2013 Doctor's Vineyard – Usually Hahn's earliest ripening growth in the lower mid-section of the AVA, slightly windier and warmer than Lone Oak; sandy/ gravelly loam, higher slopes (320–720 feet) and wider spacing (11 by 7 feet) contribute to Doctor's being the fullest, ripest and fleshiest of Lucienne Pinot Noirs, with cherry cola veering into blackberry and earthen/minerally sensations. Lucienne 2013 Smith Vineyard – Hahn's highest elevation holding (590 to 1,280 feet), and also the warmest, since much of the vineyard is above the fog line; yet tighter spacing and porous rocky sub- soil gives a steely structure with a rounded feel, and classic SLH cherry cola fruit tinged by a strawberry exuberance. Lucienne 2013 Hook Vineyard Pinot Noir – Windy, gently sloping 320- to 1,080- foot site on Chualar loam; the tightest and most tannin-laden of the bunch, not - withstanding a broad, almost voluptuous feel, and prickly, youthful concentration of raspberry/black cherry-toned fruit. Following another ATV joy-ride down the hill to Hahn Family's open-air Culinary Center, we enjoyed a farm-to-table lunch complemented by two of the Hahn SLH label wines: a silken, seamless Hahn SLH 2013 Chardonnay, and a mocha-choc - olate-ya-ya-sumptuous Hahn SLH 2013 Pinot Noir (the latter, masterfully matched to wild-caught salmon enchilada in chipotle raspberry mole). "The Hahn SLH wines," Benson recalls, "were perhaps my happiest surprise . . . deftly capturing a snapshot of the appel - lation, yet generous and fun to drink." Following their lunch, the sommeliers also enjoyed a demonstration of the Hahn Family's estate's sustainable bird control program: employing the talents of local falconers Kathleen and Jim Tigan (Raptor Adventures), and their brood of working, non-lethal raptors (including "Larry-the- Bird," a peregrine falcon to whom we were introduced). COSTA VINEYARD. Our next stop was at Costa Vineyard; located on recently broken ground (2007) of gently sloping, rock strewn sandy loam, sandwiched between Hahn Family Wines' Doctor's and Hook Vineyards. Costa Vineyard is farmed exclusively by owner David Costa for J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines, which produces classic Santa Lucia Highlands style wines—a high-flying, flower y Pinot Noir, and an opulent yet refreshingly tar t Chardonnay—under their Highlands Bench sub-moniker. Although most of J. Lohr's current vin - tages of Highlands Bench wines come from a neighboring vineyard (Escolle Vineyard), An ATV ride to the Hahn Family Wines hilltop estate (from left): Rob Renteria, Hahn Family Hospitality Manager Jose Duran, Naureen Zaim and Jordan Villareal. On the hilltop at the Hahn Family Wines estate, Hahn General Manager Tony Baldini points out Hook Vineyard to the south. A view from Smith Vineyard of Salinas Valley and the Gabilan Mountains.