Winemaker Notes
This is a small vineyard located in western Los Alamos, close to the Vandenberg Air Force Base. The town of Los Alamos is wedged between the Santa Maria Valley and the Santa Ynez Valleys in Santa Barbara County. Frigid winds coming off of the cold Pacific Ocean waters flow though this vineyard daily; helping to keep it cool and dry. The owners allow me to do as much as the farming as I see fit, but I am lucky enough to have Jeff Frey doing most of the work. The soil is a very sandy loam. This is a younger site with a huge future due to its climate. The wine I designate "Kick-on Ranch" gets the full "Austrian treatment', meaning some skin contact and aged in neutral wood. The outcome is a wine with floral, and mineral aromas. On the palette it exhibits citrus fruits, a wonderful salinity, and great length. This is the most age worthy of all of my wines and I highly recommend decanting it.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Racy yet ripe and layered, showing citrus, citrus pith, white radish, coriander seed, shimmering acidity and bitterness. Savory. Long and phenolic through the lingering finish. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
One of the highlights in the Tatomer range of dry white wines, the 2023 Riesling Kick On Ranch is based on later-picked fruit but without botrytized grapes and underwent overnight skin maceration. It offers a strikingly transparent and citrus-driven bouquet, introducing a broad, tense and elastic palate that is equal parts delicious, immediate and quietly profound. It concludes with a mineral-drenched and grippy finish that is elegant and understated yet deceptively complex. This will be particularly interesting to watch evolve past its 10th birthday.
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Vinous
The 2023 Riesling Kick-On Ranch is pure and bright as precise zesty tension and clean mineral tones rush across the palate. Lime pith, chalk and crushed rocks introduce a wine of excellent density and serious marine-influenced complexity. There's not much fruit to speak of, but I don't miss it at all. This is a deeply phenolic, almost cerebral white.
Riesling possesses a remarkable ability to reflect the character of wherever it is grown while still maintaining its identity. A regal variety of incredible purity and precision, this versatile grape can be just as enjoyable dry or sweet, young or old, still or sparkling and can age longer than nearly any other white variety. Somm Secret—Given how difficult it is to discern the level of sweetness in a Riesling from the label, here are some clues to find the dry ones. First, look for the world “trocken.” (“Halbtrocken” or “feinherb” mean off-dry.) Also a higher abv usually indicates a drier Riesling.
With a dry and mild climate cooled significantly by moist ocean fog and breezes, Santa Barbara County is a grape-grower’s dream. Part of the larger Central Coast appellation, Santa Barbara is home to Santa Maria Valley and Santa Ynez Valley. The conditions here provide an opportunity for nearly effortless production of high-quality cool-climate Central Coast wines. This is also the site of the 2004 film Sideways, which caused Pinot Noir’s popularity to skyrocket and brought new acclaim to the region.
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are the stars of Santa Barbara, producing wines marked by racy acidity. Crisp Sauvignon Blanc and savory Syrah are also important. The region is home to many young and enthusiastic winemakers eager to experiment with less common varieties including Chenin Blanc, Grüner Veltliner, Trousseau Gris, Gamay and Cabernet Franc, making it an exciting area to watch.