Review: Migration 2018 Bien Nacido Vineyard Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley CA ($70)

 Duckhorn's Migration brand is focused on cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. A lot of the wines come from the North Coast (Russian River Valley and Anderson Valley in particular), but the brand dips farther south to Santa Barbara County's legendary Bien Nacido Vineyard for this offering. First planted in 1973, the large Bien Nacido Vineyard is still a coveted source of Pinot Noir for many, many labels. This wine is such a great example of Bien Nacido fruit - it reminds me of so many wonderful wines I've had from the vineyard over the last three decades. The wine is lucid, not overly dark or concentrated, with fresh black raspberry fruit, a bit of a bitter, nutty blackberry seed note, some spice and dried herbs. The oak influence is really subtle, without a lot of obvious vanilla or toast notes - maybe just a hint of licorice on the finish. This is a beautiful wine. Hats off to winemaker Dana Epperson, who has been doing great work recently at Migration. (95 Points)

- Tim Teichgraeber

Sweetzer Cellars Chardonnays from Santa Barbara County

So, my friend Lisa Liberati sent me a few Chardonnays from a winery that she's a partner in. They're based in Buelton in Santa Barbara County, which is an incredibly beautiful place to visit. Santa Barbara County is famous for very seductive and pleasantly plump Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Santa Maria Valley and Santa Rita Hills, as well as excellent Syrah, Grenache and more from the Santa Ynez Valley.

Sweetzer Cellars 2014 Santa Maria Valley Chardonnay ($25) Moderately deep gold color, Pretty nose of pineapple, orange, peach and fennel and lavender. Peach and apricot stone fruit notes in the mouth, it stays well-focused, dry and the alcohol level isn't jacked up. It's not a terribly showy wine, and I appreciate the subtlety. A very versatile wine to pair with food, and frankly, a terrific value. 91 Points

Sweetzer Cellars 2014 Presqu'ile Vineyard Chardonnay Santa Maria Valley ($40) This one has fairly exotic fruit aromas with notes of cantaloupe, papaya and quince, and those exotic flavors continue across the palate, but it does finish relatively simply without the addition of new oak. To the wine's credit, it doesn't seem overblown and still has decent acidity. The winemaker hasn't over-compensated for the lack of oak by over-working the battonage treatment. Only 150 cases produced. 90 Points

There was one more bottle, but it was corked and unreviewable, so I'll leave it at that.