‘I tasted over 300 wines in August, these were my top 10 bottles’

Faulkner said that: ‘Some days in late August at home are like this, the air thin and eager like this, with something in it sad and nostalgic and familiar.’

That struck a chord in me as a frenzied August saw me packing in a few days on the road, including a trip home, a trip that definitely struck me as sad, nostalgic and familiar.

Somehow, between it all, I found the time to taste more than 300 wines. It was a whirlwind.

Santa Cruz Mountains

Prior to my visit to the Santa Cruz Mountains in August, I had made the pilgrimage to Montebello, but hadn’t ventured beyond those hallowed grounds at Ridge.

On this August visit, hosted by the Wines of the Santa Cruz Mountains regional body, I was able to get a more holistic picture, including visits to Rhys, Mount Eden and a new to me producer, Thomas Fogarty, as well as a return trip to Montebello.

On my last day, I sat down to a broader appellation tasting and left there having tasted over 120 wines in just three days. I also had one of the best burritos of my entire life.

While this is where American Pinot Noir first got its start, thanks to Paul Masson in the early 1900s, it was actually the Chardonnay and Syrah which blew me away.

The beautifully rugged region, with its enchanting, unique garrigue-scent filling the air at nearly every turn, is home to incredible wines. High elevation, steep slopes, and cool air from the Pacific, combined with fog from the San Francisco Bay, all come together to create something truly exceptional.

One of California’s original wine regions remains far too under the radar, despite the success of Ridge, but look for more coverage from me later this fall.

The Dundee Hills

In an effort to wrap up my 2023 Willamette Valley vintage report, I made the trek down to the Dundee Hills to taste with a few producers who had thus far eluded me.

An impressive new discovery was the wines from the White Walnut Estate, positioned on the lower flanks on the eastern side of the Dundee Hills. Owner and winemaker Chris Mazepink planted his home site in 2015 and has had some expansion since then.

He’s cut his teeth at some of the Willamette’s larger producers, but with the tiny production of his White Walnut wines, Chris is really showing a sense of place and elegance.

He says: ‘The Dundee Hills are too often painted with a broad brush and so all of these wines show the diversity of this appellation, and why even though this is where the Willamette Valley started in the 1960s, there’s a lot to explore.’

A tasting later that day at the place where it all actually started in the Willamette, Eyrie Vineyards focused on the new releases. The tasting went into the evening and I and a few others were treated to a few special bottles from the cellar of Jason Lett, second generation winemaker whose father planted the Willamette Valley’s first Pinot Noir in 1966.

Down to business

The month wrapped up with a few tastings at Woodinville, Washington wineries, Matthews Cellars, and Gård, where winemaker Matías Kúsulas is crafting some of the most compelling wines in Washington.

I’m more or less done with my big Washington and Oregon tastings for the year, and now it’s time to get busy writing the vintage reports for both the Willamette and Columbia Valleys.

Wish me luck.

Clive’s top 10 wines from August

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