The 2016 Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards Valley View Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

The Valley View Vineyard is a 35-acre hilltop vineyard in Santa Barbara County's Santa Ynez Valley. Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards grows several Bordeaux grape varieties on this south facing vineyard which overlooks the Santa Ynez River primarily because it is slightly warmer than in neighboring eastern and northern appellations. On the lower plots, Cabernet Sauvignon calls home whereas Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Merlot, and Malbec are planted. These grapes provide the juice for their excellent 2016 Valley View Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon ($25) - a 75% Cabernet Sauvignon wine filled in by these other grape varieties. Why just 75%? According to wine-maker Megan McGrath-Gates, each varietal input adds their distinctive "personalities" to the finished wine.  And after aging  21 months in 100% French oak barrels, the resulting wine provides fresh dark fruit, earthy tobacco, and a long juicy, tannic tail. A true bargain at this price point. Cheers.

Disclosure: We received samples from Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards in order to share our opinion about their products, but this isn’t a sponsored post.

Lucas & Lewellen Brut Sparkling Wine 2016 Santa Barbara County

Lucas & Lewellen is one of the more prolific wineries in Santa Barbara County as evident by their large wine portfolio and popular Solvang tasting room. Most of the winery's 40+ wines wear the Lucas & Lewellen label signifying that they are produced from estate grapes from either Goodchild Vineyard, Los Alamos Vineyard, or Valley View Vineyard. I recently received a sample from their Los Alamos Vineyard -- the Lucas & Lewellen Brut Sparkling Wine 2016 Santa Barbara County ($36).

This sparkling wine is composed of 55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay that according to the winery, "is a clear expression of the estate Los Alamos Vineyard terroir". These 278 acres stretching for over a mile of Highway 101 just south of Los Alamos in the Santa Ynez AVA. Over 20 varieties of grapes are planted - with the Rhône, Burgundy and Bordeaux regions well represented - and with some of the vines planted from cuttings brought over from Europe over 25 years ago. This Burgundian styled sparkler is delicious as creamy apples vibrate against a slightly bready interior and then lifted by the refreshing effervescence. Very nicely done.

Lucas & Lewellen's Hidden Asset

Hidden Asset refers to a wine, a red blend to be specific, that Lucas & Lewellen Estate Vineyards produces to honor their estate vineyards in Santa Barbara County - for this vintage the Los Alamos Vineyard and Valley View Vineyard.  The actual "Hidden Assets" are the grape varieties used in this unique blend, a kitchen sink of Malbec, Merlot, Syrah, Petite Sirah, and Cabernet Franc. The percentages of each grape variety and vineyard source is proprietary information but the winery prints the percentages sourced from the four vineyard sites. Three ranches in the Los Alamos Vineyard account for 95% of the grapes as this area south of the town of Los Alamos along Highway 101 is home to over twenty grape varieties. And some of the vines are from cuttings brought over from Europe over 25 years ago. This region benefits from a "rare transverse mountain range topography, an east-west orientation which channels the cool ocean air of the Pacific into the coastal valleys, allowing warm days and cool nights to produce a long, gentle growing season". The same holds true for the Valley View Vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley which rounds out the remaining 5%.  Primarily known for its Cabernet Sauvignon, blocks in this vineyard are planted with other Bordeaux varieties as well as Syrah.

2016 Santa Barbara Hidden Asset Red Wine ($29) - This is a delicious wine that remains vibrant over three days of tasting. It starts with spice and pepper, then leads to a strong cherry and raspberry profile, with spices returning for the long and moderately tannic finish.  Nicely done and at a decent price point. Cheers.