2013 Ryan Cochrane Wines Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills "Fiddlestix Vineyard" - Wine of the Day

2013 Ryan Cochrane Wines Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills "Fiddlestix Vineyard"

$43

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There’s a reason Ryan started with this vineyard when he made his very first wine. Fiddlestix just seems to deliver something special every single year. Welcome to this year’s installment! On the nose there’s just-ripe strawberry, wild cherries jubilee, anisette, dark roses, cigar box and just a touch of leather. On the palette, the strawberries and wild cherries remain, joined by ripe currant, candied raspberry, caramelized vanilla, and crushed flowers. This is a lighter-bodied wine than the past couple vintages, but is still quite rich with a round, smooth, full-bodied mouthfeel that envelopes your palette which yields to a cascade of sparkling acid. The finish just seems to...well...never finish.

2012 Ryan Cochrane Wines Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills "Fiddlestix Vineyard" - Wine of the Day

2012 Ryan Cochrane Wines Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills "Fiddlestix Vineyard"

$43

---

Sourced from the same incredible vineyard as my previous wines, the 2012 Fiddlestix Vineyard Pinot Noir is all Sta. Rita Hills. The nose features a rich combination of black cherries, fresh raspberries, wet forest, anisette and rose garden. The medium-bodied mouthfeel is firm, rich and round, reminding me of the texture of liquidized sour hard candy. On the palette, rich tones of sour dark cherries, red berries and plum mix with flourishes of sweet lemon rind, rhubarb pie, eastern spices and jasmine tea. The generous acid at the end carries a finish that goes on and on. This is a powerful wine that will improve with cellar age. If you just can't wait, decanting is recommended.

2013 Ryan Cochrane Wines Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley "Solomon Hills Vineyard" - Wine of the Day

2013 Ryan Cochrane Wines Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley "Solomon Hills Vineyard"

$43

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Ryan Cochrane has really fallen in love with this vineyard. There’s this unmistakeable characteristic about wines made from this site that is uniquely Solomon Hills. In 2013, he added an extra clone to the mix which really gave this wine an extra level of complexity and balance. And it also made it a little addictive too. As always, the nose explodes right out of the glass, unleashing aromas of rich red berries, black licorice, sandalwood, fresh flowers, black tea with lemon and mushroomy earth. On the palette, I’m getting garden strawberries, bing cherries, spice cake, orange marmalade, tea and underlying wet forest floor. The wine has a beautiful light garnet color, which alludes to its medium-light bodied character and perfect balance. The wine starts off with a bright and showy mouthfeel, but morphs into something much more complex as an effervescent acidity takes over with a nice snap at the end. This wine lingers on the tongue 4 evah!

2013 Ryan Cochrane Wines Chardonnay Santa Maria Valley "Solomon Hills Vineyard" - Wine of the Day

2013 Ryan Cochrane Wines Chardonnay Santa Maria Valley "Solomon Hills Vineyard"

$34

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The very first Chardonnay from Ryan Cochrane Wines and he made it about as simply as you can. That said, there’s nothing simple about this wine! Pressed directly into barrels, it went through both primary and secondary fermentation on its own. All in all, this was fermenting for 8-9 months non-stop. The lees were stirred every two weeks and that was about it! It’s a total olfactory wine. The powerful nose contains hints of crisp pineapple, melty banana, green apple, vanilla bean, creme brulee and that classic marine-influenced Santa Maria je ne sais qois that is synonymous with the region. On the palette, the wine pays off the nose perfectly with an added twist of Meyer lemon and peach juice to boot. Full malolactic fermentation added a plushness up front, but there’s great acid on this wine that carries it through and builds to a nice crisp snap on the finish, which just goes on and on and on. Thine lips shalt smack!

2012 Ryan Cochrane Wines Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley "Solomon Hills Vineyard" - Wine of the Day

 2012 Ryan Cochrane Wines Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley "Solomon Hills Vineyard"

$43

---

Solomon Hills Vineyard is located about seven miles from the ocean just outside the city of Orcutt in Santa Barbara County. The maritime influence combined with ocean floor sandy loam soil results in wines with bright fruit, good balance, crisp acidity and what is known as "Santa Maria spice". The lively nose jumps out of the glass, revealing a tightly-knit profile of fresh cherries, strawberries, hazelnuts, spice cake, violet and rose petal. The smooth, silky, light-bodied mouthfeel delivers notes of firm red strawberry, raspberry and cherry mixed with dashes of currant, caramelized orange peel, saddle leather, vanilla and gingerbread cookies. Delicate tannins transition to a sparkle of acidity on the finish. Beware...this wine goes down a little too easy.

2013 Ryan Cochrane Wines Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills "Fiddlestix Vineyard" - Wine of the Day

View fullsize

2013 Ryan Cochrane Wines Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills "Fiddlestix Vineyard"

$43

---

There’s a reason I started with this vineyard when I made my very first wine. Fiddlestix just seems to deliver something special every single year. Welcome to this year’s installment! On the nose there’s just-ripe strawberry, wild cherries jubilee, anisette, dark roses, cigar box and just a touch of leather. On the palette, the strawberries and wild cherries remain, joined by ripe currant, candied raspberry, caramelized vanilla, and crushed flowers. This is a lighter-bodied wine than the past couple vintages, but is still quite rich with a round, smooth, full-bodied mouthfeel that envelopes your palette which yields to a cascade of sparkling acid. The finish just seems to...well...never finish.

2013 Ryan Cochrane Wines Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley "Solomon Hills Vineyard" - Wine of the Day

2013 Ryan Cochrane Wines Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley "Solomon Hills Vineyard"

$43

---

You'll really fallen in love with this vineyard. There’s this unmistakeable characteristic about wines made from this site that is uniquely Solomon Hills. In 2013, I added an extra clone to the mix which really gave this wine an extra level of complexity and balance. And it also made it a little addictive too. As always, the nose explodes right out of the glass, unleashing aromas of rich red berries, black licorice, sandalwood, fresh flowers, black tea with lemon and mushroomy earth. On the palette, I’m getting garden strawberries, bing cherries, spice cake, orange marmalade, tea and underlying wet forest floor. The wine has a beautiful light garnet color, which alludes to its medium-light bodied character and perfect balance. The wine starts off with a bright and showy mouthfeel, but morphs into something much more complex as an effervescent acidity takes over with a nice snap at the end. This wine lingers on the tongue 4 evah!

2013 Ryan Cochrane Wines Chardonnay Santa Maria Valley "Solomon Hills Vineyard" - Wine of the Day

View fullsize

2013 Ryan Cochrane Wines Chardonnay Santa Maria Valley "Solomon Hills Vineyard"

$34

---

This is my very first Chardonnay and I made it about as simply as you can. That said, there’s nothing simple about this wine! Pressed directly into barrels, it went through both primary and secondary fermentation on its own. All in all, this was fermenting for 8-9 months non-stop. I just stirred the lees every two weeks and that was about it! It’s a total olfactory wine. The powerful nose contains hints of crisp pineapple, melty banana, green apple, vanilla bean, creme brulée and that classic marine-influenced Santa Maria je ne sais qois that is synonymous with the region. On the palette, the wine pays off the nose perfectly with an added twist of Meyer lemon and peach juice to boot. Full malolactic fermentation added a plushness up front, but there’s great acid on this wine that carries it through and builds to a nice crisp snap on the finish, which just goes on and on and on. Thine lips shalt smack!

2013 Ryan Cochrane Wines Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley "Solomon Hills Vineyard" - Wine of the Day

 2013 Ryan Cochrane Wines Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley "Solomon Hills Vineyard"

$43

---

The nose explodes right out of the glass, unleashing aromas of rich red berries, black licorice, sandalwood, fresh flowers, black tea with lemon and mushroomy earth. On the palette, I’m getting garden strawberries, bing cherries, spice cake, orange marmalade, tea and underlying wet forest floor. The wine has a beautiful light garnet color, which alludes to its medium-light bodied character and perfect balance. The wine starts off with a bright and showy mouthfeel, but morphs into something much more complex as an effervescent acidity takes over with a nice snap at the end. This wine lingers on the tongue 4 evah!