Located along the Foxen Canyon Wine Trail in the Santa Maria Valley AVA, just north of Santa Barbara, sits the beautiful vineyards and tasting room of Cambria Estate Winery. Just 15 miles from the Pacific Ocean, at the northern end of the Foxen Canyon, this is cool climate country and ideal for planting Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
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2007 Le Vieux Donjon Chateauneuf-du-Pape
A big, bold wine with lots of dark red fruits, black pepper and earth on the nose. Dark red in colour, it was full-bodied and smooth, intense but very well balanced with a lovely long finish.
Excellent+
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When we first wrote about the McMenamin brothers and their historic hotels throughout Oregon & Washington State, we were hopeful that the rumours of them opening a hotel in Bothell, Washington were true. If you’ve never heard of Bothell, it’s a 20 minute drive north of downtown Seattle, and also happens to sit right next door to Woodinville, home to many of Washington’s best winery tasting rooms. As a result of the growing demand for Washington wine, there is also a great need in the area for decent accommodation to support its burgeoning popularity.
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2002 Delille Cellars Chaleur Estate
Deep red in colour and showing none of its age at 14 years old, this is a big, bold, powerful wine that is drinking absolutely perfectly now. Wonderfully complex, we picked up dark and red fruits of black and red cherry, blueberry and plum, rounded out with mocha, earth and a hint of vanilla. A juicy acidity to this wine that also revealed a sweetness to it reminiscent of chocolate covered cherry and liquer. Made up of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc, in a blind taste we think we would have guessed Merlot dominant because of its plushness. Very smooth mouthfeel with a superbly long finish.
Extraordinary
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We often get asked to make winery recommendations to friends or clients visiting various wine country regions throughout the Pacific Northwest. One of the first things we try and find out is whether the person going is looking for the best wine they can find in the area, or are more interested in a destination winery where they can sit and enjoy a glass of wine with a view. Once in a while you find a combination of both that really stand out: Daou Vineyards in Paso Robles, Soter Vineyards in the Willamette Valley and St. Francis Vineyards in Sonoma certainly come to mind. On a recent trip to Santa Barbara’s wine country we added Sunstone Vineyards and Winery to that list.
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