2014 Varner Pinot Noir Los Alamos Vineyard Santa Barbara County

A Pinot Noir Gem from the Wild, Wild West

True to their Midwestern roots, Jim and Bob Varner are understated, quiet types who prefer to let their wines do the talking. When Robert Parker and Antonio Galloni routinely drop rave 94- and 95-point reviews on your Chardonnays — which many consider among the very best in California — and your luscious Pinot Noirs draw comparisons to Grand Crus from Côte de Nuits, there isn’t much need for additional commentary.

Given the Varners’ soft-spoken nature, we couldn’t help but notice the excitement in their voices when they called us two weeks ago to gush about their latest project, a Santa Barbara vineyard in Los Alamos.

We understand Los Alamos will soon get its own AVA. Bob Varner told us why he’s so excited. “It’s right between the cool Santa Maria Valley appellation to the north and the warmer Santa Ynez Valley appellation to the south. We believe it’s capable of combining the BEST of those two regions.” If this 2014 Varner Los Alamos Pinot Noir is any indication, Bob’s right.

Los Alamos, a dusty, stagecoach-stop cowboy town that has more recently become a retreat for Hollywood A-listers, consistently produces critically-acclaimed wines. Its pedigree stretches back to the area’s early days of viniculture: Au Bon Climat had its first winery in a barn on the Los Alamos property. So it’s no surprise that the Varners chose it to be one of their first stops after moving on from the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Los Alamos has helped Au Bon Climat’s Jim Clendenen and his protege Gavin Chanin earn 94 points for their Chardonnays. Chanin produced two straight Los Alamos Pinot Noirs that scored 93 points from Parker, with one of them netting 95 points from Galloni.

The Varner brothers told us they believe these 500 acres on the flat bottomland of the Los Alamos Valley have the potential to produce some of the best structured wines in Santa Barbara. After tasting their seductively silky, wonderfully built 2014 Pinot, consider us enthusiastically aboard the Los Alamos bandwagon.

Sourced from two of the vineyard’s best blocks, the 2014 Pinot is 33% clone 777, lending a broad-shouldered, robust character, and 67% of the edgier, Syrah-like Pommard clone. The vines are planted on gentle slopes in low-vigor soils, reducing alcohol but still enriching flavor. Ten degrees cooler than Santa Ynez 19 miles south and 10 degrees cooler than Santa Maria Valley 25 miles north, Los Alamos maintains a temperate climate with balmy days and very cool nights that allow the fruit to reach a state of voluptuous density and balance. The 2014 vintage was a banner year for Pinot Noir in Los Alamos, yielding high-quality small berries that led to superb concentration and supple, beautifully structured wines.

Since Los Alamos isn’t a federally approved appellation yet, it stills falls under the broader Santa Barbara designation. But after the success Clendenen, Chanin, and now the Varner brothers have found there, don’t be surprised to see more wineries start adding the Los Alamos name to the bottle. The buzz around this appellation-to-be is only going to get louder.

The 2014 Varner Los Alamos Pinot Noir is ruby-purple. Bright, exquisite aromas of wild fruit, brandied cherry, and baking spice, lightly touched with earthy tobacco. Deep, darkly concentrated, and terrifically structured. Satin-soft in texture, packed with a plush mix of crushed raspberry, dark chocolate, and rose petals, dropping off into a textured minerality and silky finish. Drink now for its bold, fruity primacy or lay down into the mid-2020s.

Wines from Varner, Clendenen, and Chanin typically go to market at $50 or more—only at WineAccess today, we are offering this Pinot Noir gem for over HALF that price at $21/bottle. 600 bottles up for grabs. At this incredible value, we recommend buying by the case. Burgundy enthusiasts and serious California red collectors DO NOT want to miss out on this one.

• ABV 13.20%
• Enjoy right away
• % Pinot Noir