Palmina Sisquoc Vineyard Nebbiolo 2010
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Robert
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Pale ruby in color, the 2010 Nebbiolo Sisquoc Vineyard serves up a nose of baked raspberries and cherry cordial with suggestions of wilted roses, baking spices, anise and charcoal. The medium-bodied palate delivers fully mature, classic Nebbiolo perfumed red berry and spice flavors, with a firm backbone and great length.
Palmina’s philosophy, passion and strongly held belief is that wine is an extension of the plate, a component of a meal and a means to bring people together. Formed by winemaker Steve Clifton (of La Voix Winery and formerly of Brewer-Clifton Wines) in 1995, Palmina is named in honor of Steve’s great friend Paula. Like a grandmother to him, she taught Steve the love of cooking, wine and the Italian lifestyle and was a spark in his life. After Paula succumbed to breast cancer, Steve found that her given name on her Italian birth certificate was Palmina, and the winery was thus fittingly named.
Palmina produces a full range of wines crafted solely from Italian varietals with names that are as fun to say as they are delicious to drink; Dolcetto, Barbera, Nebbiolo, Pinot Grigio. Palmina translates the history of those grapes to the growing conditions and vineyard sites of the very unique characteristics of Santa Barbara County. In California, the transverse mountain ranges typically run north to south but the Santa Barbara County region is unlike any other in the world: its transverse ranges take a turn, running east and west. This creates a unique growing climate for a range of grape varietals by offering daily, both hot and cool climates. The resulting wines are Italian by inspiration with flavors rooted in Santa Barbara County, and all are intended to be a delicious component of a meal.
Palmina “pure farms” its 11 acres in Santa Barbara County. Pure farming gives back more than it takes. Unwavering in its farming standards, Palmina does not utilize herbicides or pesticides. Weed-clearing is done through laborious hand-hoeing, with critical soil nutrients reintroduced by planting organic legumes and grasses between the vines. With mindful intention, organic, sustainable and biodynamic practices are utilized.
Responsible for some of the most elegant and age-worthy wines in the world, Nebbiolo, named for the ubiquitous autumnal fog (called nebbia in Italian), is the star variety of northern Italy’s Piedmont region. Grown throughout the area, as well as in the neighboring Valle d’Aosta and Valtellina, it reaches its highest potential in the Piedmontese villages of Barolo, Barbaresco and Roero. Outside of Italy, growers are still very much in the experimentation stage but some success has been achieved in parts of California. Somm Secret—If you’re new to Nebbiolo, start with a charming, wallet-friendly, early-drinking Langhe Nebbiolo or Nebbiolo d'Alba.
A lesser-known but elite AVA within the larger Santa Barbara district, the Santa Maria Valley AVA runs precisely west to east starting near the coast. The valley funnels cool, Pacific Ocean air to the vineyards more inland, allowing grapes a longer hang time to ripen evenly and achieve their full potential by harvest time. Combined with minimal rainfall, consistent warm sunshine, and well-drained soils, it is an ideal environment for grape growing.
Many of the wineries here are small and highly respected, having established a reputation in the 1970s and 80s for producing excellent Central Coast wines like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. More recently, Syrah has also proven quite successful in the region. Many vineyards are owned by growers who sell their grapes to other wineries, so it is common to see the same vineyard name on bottlings from different wineries. Bien Nacido Vineyard is perhaps the best-known and most prestigious.