Au Bon Climat 2023 Santa Barbara Pinot Noir 750ml

Jim Clendenen and Adam Tolmach founded ABC in a converted dairy barn in 1982, and the County Pinot has been made every year since, now in its fourth decade. Fruit is drawn from premier Santa Maria Valley sites, Bien Nacido and Rancho Real among them, where Pacific fog and wind stretch ripening for months. Hand-harvested, fermented in small lots with daily punch-downs, then ten months in François Frères French oak, roughly 10% new. Spiced cranberry, strawberry and hibiscus lead; plum, dark cherry, anise, tea and clove follow. Balanced, nuanced, built for the table.

Pairing: grilled lamb, charcuterie, salmon, mushroom pasta, roast chicken.