2019 Au Bon Climat, Isabelle, Pinot Noir, California, USA

2019 Au Bon Climat, Isabelle, Pinot Noir, California, USA

Product: 20191224803
Prices start from £535.00 per case Buying options
2019 Au Bon Climat, Isabelle, Pinot Noir, California, USA

Buying options

Available by the case In Bond. Pricing excludes duty and VAT, which must be paid separately before delivery. Storage charges apply.
Case format
Availability
Price per case
6 x 75cl bottle
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Description

There is depth and complexity on the palate, around which gentle red fruit and earthy raspberries twist with the intensity and smoothness of a python. There is a textural sweetness here and impressive concentration of fruit, yet the tannins are fine and provide a firm grip.

Sweet strawberries draw out the long finish alongside notes of autumnal leaves on woodland walks. This is not a shy, retiring type of wine, but it is a mouthcoating, gentle and characterful Isabelle.

Catriona Felstead MW, Senior Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd (September 2021)

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Critics reviews

Antonio Galloni, Vinous92/100

The 2019 Pinot Noir Isabelle is bright and effusive, with tons of aromatic presence and fine balance. Sweet red cherry fruit, orange peel, spice and dried herbs open first, followed by a host of perfumed floral notes that lead into the mid-palate and finish. 

The 2019 is silky and quite elegant; all it really needs is another year or two in bottle to come into its own.

Drink 2024 - 2034

Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (June 2022)

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Decanter92/100

The nose is not yet expressive, although there are subdued cherries and red fruit aromas. It’s concentrated, of course, but also fresh and limpid, with plenty of spicy oak but not to excess. This needs time, but the length of flavour suggests it will age well.

Drink 2022 - 2036

Stephen Brook, Decanter.com (June 2022)

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Jeb Dunnuck94/100

The 2019 Pinot Noir Isabelle comes from six vineyards and four AVAs. Its medium ruby hue gives way to a plump, rounded, beautifully textured, medium-bodied effort displaying lots of spicy red fruits, notes of flowers, new leather, and sandalwood, supple tannins, and plenty of mid-palate depth. 

Wonderfully balanced, it’s a charming, classic, impeccably made Pinot Noir.

Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com (August 2022)

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About this WINE

Au Bon Climat

Au Bon Climat

The late Jim Clendenen founded Au Bon Climat (ABC) in 1982. He became famous for making pioneering wines from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay on California’s Central Coast. He passed away in 2021 and is remembered as one of the most charismatic and influential people of his vinous generation.

Jim’s passion for wine was born from a trip to Burgundy in the mid-1970s when he studied Law at UC Santa Barbara. During subsequent visits, his enthusiasm for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grew, and he became convinced that the Californian hills were capable of something special with these two noble varieties.

Au Bon Climat translates as “a well-exposed vineyard”, a name that suits the vineyards’ coastal position, with its benevolent Pacific fog and cooling breeze. Making the most of these conditions, ABC buy clones from Burgundy. This contributes to creating wines that emulate Europe’s restraint and finesse but with a magic touch of New World flair.

The vineyards ABC source their grapes from read as a ‘who’s who’ of Central Coast vineyards. Bien Nacido and Jim’s “Le Bon Climat” are the most significant contributors. The influence of the Pacific can be felt standing in the canyon of Bien Nacido, where the warm days and cool nights characterise this superb terroir. Le Bon Climat, in contrast, consists of mainly hilltop vineyards which were certified organic in 2003.

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Santa Maria Valley

Santa Maria Valley

Located in Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Maria Valley is known for its unique climate, known as the Santa Maria Valley AVA (American Viticultural Area), which significantly influences the winemaking process and the resulting wines.

The climate is typically cool and moderate, strongly influenced by the nearby Pacific Ocean. The region experiences a combination of maritime and inland influences, with foggy mornings, mild days, and cool evenings. This unique climate helps to preserve the natural acidity and delicate flavours of the grapes, making it ideal for producing high-quality wines.

Several grape varieties thrive in the region, with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay being the most prominent. Pinot Noir grapes benefit from the region’s cooler climate, producing wines with complexity, elegance, and bright red fruit flavours. Chardonnay grapes also flourish in the Valley’s climate, producing wines with crisp acidity and balanced flavours.

The Winemakers focus on minimal intervention and sustainable practices, allowing the unique characteristics of the grapes and terroir to shine through in the wines. Many wineries employ traditional winemaking methods, including hand-harvesting the grapes and using open-top fermentation vessels for red wines. Some producers also use oak ageing to add complexity and texture to their wines.

The Santa Maria Valley is home to several notable wineries and vineyards, each contributing to the region’s reputation for producing exceptional wines. One of the most renowned wineries in the area is Au Bon Climat.

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Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir

Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating, and at times infuriating, wine grape in the world. However when it is successful, it can produce some of the most sublime wines known to man. This thin-skinned grape which grows in small, tight bunches performs well on well-drained, deepish limestone based subsoils as are found on Burgundy's Côte d'Or.

Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climats of the Côte d`Or.

Because of the thinness of the skins, Pinot Noir wines are lighter in colour, body and tannins. However the best wines have grip, complexity and an intensity of fruit seldom found in wine from other grapes. Young Pinot Noir can smell almost sweet, redolent with freshly crushed raspberries, cherries and redcurrants. When mature, the best wines develop a sensuous, silky mouth feel with the fruit flavours deepening and gamey "sous-bois" nuances emerging.

The best examples are still found in Burgundy, although Pinot Noir`s key role in Champagne should not be forgotten. It is grown throughout the world with notable success in the Carneros and Russian River Valley districts of California, and the Martinborough and Central Otago regions of New Zealand.

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When is a wine ready to drink?

We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.

Not ready

These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.

Ready - youthful

These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.

Ready - at best

These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.

Ready - mature

These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.