Star Lane Vineyard Astral Cabernet Sauvignon 2009
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2005-
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Founded in 1996, Star Lane Vineyard was birthed from a 250-year vision instigated by the Dierberg family. Ten years into patient exploration for land to sustainably cultivate world class Bordeaux varietals, founders Jim and Mary eschewed the common path and saw unrealized potential in the Happy Canyon area of Santa Barbara County. Now in our second of 10-generation plan, we carry on a legacy of sustaining land through crafting high quality wine.
Since the early 19th century most of the acreage has been grazed to provide beef for local populations. This continues today and Star Lane Vineyard offers a slice of “old California” with ancient oak trees, pines, coastal chaparral, and numerous native plants. The Dierberg family planted east facing slopes in well drained silty-loam soils of various cobble content from magnesium rich serpentine to calcium/silica rich chert. Ranging from 750 to 1500 feet above sea level, it is one of the highest elevation vineyards in all of Santa Barbara County. The natural low vigor of the vines is excellent for developing flavors and depth in the wines while preserving freshness at reasonable potential alcohol levels.
In 2013 President and Winemaker Tyler Thomas joined the team to further drive discovery of the property through wine cultivation. Our focus is on small lot fermentations, minimally handled, to help discover the inherent nature of this varied property. “Great wine is discovered, not made,” Thomas noted, “and the goal of the winery is to serve the vineyard and overall sustainability of the property.”
By leveraging control over all our farming, a state-of-the-art facility, and simple winemaking designed to usher the fruit to the bottle, we produce numerous bottlings of certified sustainable Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc, and Syrah from Star Lane Vineyard.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
On the eastern end of the Santa Ynez Valley, the rolling hills of the tiny Happy Canyon AVA produce top quality reds from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah and whites from Sauvignon blanc. The region’s low-nutrient soil grows smaller vines and in turn, higher quality wine grapes.