Christie Kiley on November 17, 2014 0 Comments If you think about California Pinot Noir, you might automatically think about the Sonoma Valley. For you Pinot lovers there is a new California region you must check out, and you are less likely to pay the Sonoma prices for Pinot, the Santa Lucia Highlands. This newer region for Pinot Noir, over the last couple years has put itself on the wine map for making some competition for Sonoma. Located in the Central Coast, this valley boasts ninety-nine miles of coastline. Along with its location alongside the Salinas River, the high terraces of the Santa Lucia mountain range experience foggy mornings with constant breezes coming in from the Monterey Bay. The cool, early mornings are ideal to develop flavors and aromatic compounds of the grapes before the fog rolls away and the full afternoon sun comes to develop the sugars. The area has low rain fall and the growing season is quite long for a cooler region, allowing for a variety of wine grapes to be planted. Today, you can find over six thousand acres of vines planted in this region. Today, I bring you one of their producers, Hahn Estates. The Hahn Story The properties of Hahn had originally been horse and cattle ranches in the Santa Lucia Highlands which overlooked the Salinas Valley. The ranches were transformed into vineyards and by 1980, and the first vintage was released under the ranches’ original names ‘Smith & Hook’, a Cabernet Sauvignon in 1980. ‘Hahn’, in German is a name to symbolize the rooster, thus the meaning for their bottles embellished with the red rooster to represent the family’s heritage. By 1991, Nicky had begun the Hahn Winery brand with the goal to represent accessible yet supple wines at fair prices from their family’s vineyards in Monterey. Their Properties The Hahn’s estate is made up of over one-thousand acres of wine territory in the Salinas Valley. Each parcel of vineyard can be found in different locations, each with its own terroir and microclimate. When the locations’ fruits are made into wine and blended together, the complexity of each vineyard make for wines of lovely distinction and quality. Lone Oak Vineyard – Santa Lucia Highlands: This northern vineyard is perfect for the Burgundian varietal the Hahn family is proud to showcase, Pinot Noir, with cool breezes coming in from the bay. The gentle sloping vineyards allow them to catch the cooler morning sun. Doctor’s Vineyard – Santa Lucia Highlands: This vineyard consisting of over 240 acres is where you can find more Pinot Noir along with some carefully selected clones of Syrah. Here it is a little bit up valley and slightly warmer to create fuller flavors and deeper notes. Smith & Hook Vineyards – Santa Lucia Highlands: The site was the original cattle ranch and now consists of about 250 acres of vineyard, where Pinot Noir is cultivated along with a handful of other varietals. The gentle slopes of the hillsides here make it possible for efficient drainage and the eastern exposed slopes are just above the fog line giving the grapes a longer growing season for full maturity of the fruit. Ste. Philippe Vineyard – Arroyo Seco: This is their youngest site and the 290 acres sit on the valley floor in sandy-loamy soils with efficient drainage where the grapes can develop deeper and more intense fruit flavors. Ste. Nicholas Vineyards – Arroyo Seco: This vineyard was planted in 1994 and the vineyards sit along the eastern-facing slopes of the valley to catch the early morning sun. This is their cooler vineyard site consisting of loam and clay with good drainage. The rocky soils create depth and round out the wines with a touch of elegance and softness, as the fruit of this area is slow to mature in the cooler temps. Sustainability and the Future The Hahn family believes in business and growing practices to sustain their land for the present as well as into the future. They have achieved the California Sustainability certification due to their viticulture practices in biodiversity. The biodiversity allows for natural plants which make up cover crop in their vineyards which allow for the other native flora and fauna to thrive and provide habitats to the existing wildlife in their vineyards. The cover crop is turned into the soils to create a natural fertilizer and legumes are planted as a natural solution to introduce essential nitrogen into the soil. For pest control, organic-approved Stylet oil is utilized for mildew and mite issues, which is a better alternative to sulfur. For water conservation all of their water and energy usage, UV light is used to purify water which is used to irrigate the vineyards and used in the winery. All of these practices along with continued education in monitoring the improvement of their land is what makes the Hahn estates vineyards and a winery of the future and the Hahn family wineries were the first to become Green Certified in the Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties, recognizing their efforts to exceed beyond the environment regulations in the ways they contribute to conserve the natural resources and prevent pollution. Their Product Now that you have met the winery and their estate, I want to talk about their Pinot Noir of this very special valley. Turkey Day is just a couple weeks away and if you are looking to substitute the ole standby of Chardonnay on your table, this is an ideal and perfect option. The wine is well structured with bold fruits ranging from spring berries to plums with lovely notes of dark-roasted coffee and berry preserves. A couple sips and your mouth waters with mature berry juiciness and supple, soft and round tannins. It will go lovely with your turkey and the fixings. If you are going even a little non-traditional, this wine will go well with most game meats and some heartier dishes as well. Happy Thanksgiving! More Wine Reviews: Patz & Hall Hyde Vineyards Pinot Noir Fromm Clayvin Vineyard Pinot Noir 2011 Gary Farrell Ramal Vineyard 2010 Pinot Noir Animal Espumante Chardonnay-Pinot Noir
