Santa Barbara County

This wines if full of fleshy white-peach, citrus zest, fresh apricot and spice notes. This wine has a generosity of flavour on the palate combined with an energetic and lively acidity that makes this wine perfect as an apéritif or accompanying white meat or fish. Drink now to 2021.
Fiona Hayes, Buyer (September 2019)

A blend of the top 10 barrels, 24 months in new Oak barrels, named after Jim Clendenen’s daughter. Pale in colour and yet a colour that belies the pure fruited nose, full of macerated cherry, bright red fruit, hint of tea leaf and bergamot spice, the new oak is so well integrated that one can hardly tell it is there. A pure Burgundian-like profile , great structure and acidity with bright red fruit, floral notes, undergrowth and spice on the mid palate. Great grip with the finely honed tannins results in a wine that should really shine in 3 – 5 + years.
Stuart Rae, Private Account Manager

This has a voluptuous, generous nose, oozing sweet red cherries. The palate is smooth, seductive and rich – really ripe but in a ‘delve-in-right-now’ sort of way. The tannins are present and harmonious, melting on the mouth whilst leaving a fine grip next to the sweet taste of oak on the long finish. There’s no denying that the 2011 Isabelle is really very impressive. Drink 2016-2022.
Catriona Felstead MW, Wine Buyer

Jim Clendenen, the talented, highly individual proprietor at ABC, produces a clutch of top-class Pinots from single vineyards but Isabelle is not one of them. Instead it is a blend of the very best barrels that the winery produces from its myriad vineyard sites. After being racked once, shortly after the blend is created and put into barrel, the wine remains undisturbed for 24 months before being bottled unfined and unfiltered. It is a hedonistic experience to drink! Aromas of ripe, black summer fruits abound and the palate has a spicy, rich almost exotic flavour. The texture is velvety but tannins lurk in the background, in no way intrusive and wholly beneficial to the wines’ ageing , but above all ripe and in no way aggressive. A beautiful expression of Pinot Noir which will partner a rib of beef really well and will last for 10 years comfortably.

Lively red fruit, with a smoky note from the stems (60%). Very aromatic and pure – a classic Au Bon Climat hallmark is the intense fragrance of the Pinots. Floral as well. Masses of ripe, soft red fruit on the palate, think redcurrants, cranberries, et al. Very supple tannins and a fine boned structure. One for Christmas lunch in a couple of years.
Fergus Stewart, Private Account Manager

Knox (named after Jim’s son) is a blend of the best fruit from the Bien Nacido and Le Bon Climat Vineyards. The wines see 18 months in barrel (75% new French oak) and filtration is done only as a last resort. The wine then rests in bottle for a year before it is released. The 2006 has a serious weighty fruit on the nose that will need 3-5 years to show its best. Very focused and darker berry fruits come to the fore. Superbly structured, with well-defined red and black fruit that will fill out with time. Another top-drawer wine.
Hong Kong Fine Wine Team