Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Raised in equal parts stainless steel and 60-gallon French oak barrels, the 2013 Arneis Little Rascal Honea Vineyard offers outstanding notes of lemon curd, rose petals, honeysuckle and crushed rock to go with an elegant, silky and polished feel on the palate. It's light, beautifully balanced and crisp, without being simple. At the price, this interesting little gem is a steal. Note, Arneis is a white grape that's commonly planted in northwest Italy near Piedmont.
Yielding a dry and subtly scented wine, Arneis is the star white grape of Piedmont. Though the grape has been local to Roero since the 1400s, it didn’t experience real popularity until the 1980s when local demand for white wine exploded. Somm Secret—A few key Roero producers are also focusing on exploring the ageability of high quality Arneis. It is only grown outside of Piedmont to a very limited extent.
Ranging from cool and foggy in the west to warm and dry in the east, the Santa Ynez Valley is a climatically diverse growing area. The most expansive AVA within the larger Santa Barbara County region, Santa Ynez is also home to a wide variety of soil types and geographical features. The appellation is further divided into four distinct sub-AVAs—Sta. Rita Hills, Ballard Canyon, Los Olivos District and Happy Canyon—each with its own defining characteristics.
A wide selection of grapes is planted here—more than sixty different varieties, and counting. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir dominate in the chilly west, while Zinfandel, Rhône blends, and Bordeaux blends rule the arid east. Syrah is successful at both ends of the valley, with a lean and peppery, Old-World sensibility closer to the coast and lush berry fruit further inland.