"An Absolute Steal" from a Longtime K&L Favorite Cali Producer

2021 Comartin Cellars "R-Bar-R Ranch" Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir (Elsewhere $64) $19.95

Ryan Woodhouse | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: September 30, 2024

Winemaker Adam Comartin is longtime personal friend of mine. We first met back in 2011 when I was working as a cellar rat at Testarossa winery in Los Gatos. Adam was the Assistant Winemaker at the time, and we spent many long 14–16-hour days in the old stone cellars of the Novitiate winery, built in 1888, that now houses Testarossa. With several decades of experience under his belt, and incredible knowledge of cool-climate Pinot Noir, Adam continues to craft delicious, small-lot wines under his own eponymous label. Occasionally when Adam has a few extra cases to move, I'm thrilled that he gives me a call to make a winery-direct deal at steep discount!

Several years back I was able to visit R-Bar-R Ranch with Adam and walk the vineyard blocks thst he takes fruit from. Though relatively unknown outside of the local area, this site is incredible. The vines grow in a steep, southwest facing hillside, close to Mt. Madonna, at the very southern end of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The site has uninterrupted views out over Monterey Bay. A very cool, marginal site that relies on a long hang time and less fog in the Fall season for fruit to get ripe. This creates a Pinot with great intensity of flavor, bold, generous, glossy red fruits, Morello cherry, Asian spices, and sassafras, are laced savory Redwood grove elements, amaro-like alpine herbs, damp earth, and truffle. A fantastic juxtaposition of great fruit purity and silky textures, plus plenty of more savory, terroir driven qualities that speak of the coastal mountains. This is an absolute steal thanks to our long relationship with the winery and a special Insider's Advantage price not found anywhere else.

Alexandre Tweedie | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: September 26, 2024

Wine's from the Santa Cruz Mountains almost always have that "sense of place" locked into the bottle, the purity of its mountain terroir shining through with identifiable notes that could only come from this unique AVA. Great Santa Cruz pinot can feel like cutting fog with a grafting knife, and Comartin's bottling of "R-Bar-R Ranch" is exactly that. The palate provides a generous yet balanced extraction of fruit, presenting flavors of cherry cordial chocolates, sun dried cranberry, and a grippy little splash of forest twigs that provide earth and savor to the richer-styled fruit. Even with density on the palate, this wine is singing the song of Santa Cruz from start to finish - fog, herbs, driven spice, absolutely delicious pinot noir!