Tatomer “Kick-On Ranch”, Riesling
Santa Barbara County , California | 2016
So. Some of you may be looking at this month’s option and are starting to get huffy. Some will be huffy about Riesling and others will be huffy about California; alas, enough with that huff! I promise I will never lead you astray and will hopefully make true believers out of you for both Riesling and for the slice of California that dedicates itself to wines built with the Old World finesse that constitutes Le Midi wines.
First thing’s first: let’s talk Austria. If you’ve never heard of the world-renowned producer Weingut Knoll (make sure to pronounce the hard K with this one), then I’ll be the first to let you know that their wines helped set the precedent for high quality and age-worthy Austrian Rieslings throughout the world. They command some of the highest prices of any Austrian wine and with good reason – they are mind-bogglingly delicious.
Now, let’s go back to this month’s Riesling. In 2003, California winemaker Graham Tatomer caught the bug for Austrian wines and decided that his focus would be placed on California Rieslings, Grüner Veltliners, and Pinot Noirs that could stand up to Austrian quality. He decided to move to Austria to perfect this skill and I’m sure you can easily guess where this education took place: Weingut Knoll! Not only did he live and work in the winery for four years before moving back to California, but he became so close to current generation winemaker Emmerich Knoll that Emmerich personally consulted Graham on how to perfect this caliber of wine in the New World.
One of the best things about Riesling, when made correctly, is that it is has arguably the greatest potential for aging over any other varietal. The key is acid, and Tatomer wines do not slack when it comes to preserving that. Furthermore, to emulate Rieslings from the Wachau in California, you would need plenty of sunshine alongside an abundance of cooling breeze to moderate the potential for ripeness. Kick-On Ranch is a single vineyard located on top of the Pacific Ocean just north of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA, and because of the ocean’s constant air currents, it is known to be the chilliest and windiest site in all of Santa Barbara County. The grapes for this bottling come from the central vineyard’s best vines from clusters that are not affected by sunburn or potential botrytis. Graham fastidiously focuses on quality over quantity and as a result has a very small production.
Now that this Riesling is entering its 7th year, it’s just getting to a spot that I believe is a much more approachable style than those with less age. You will start to see the stone fruit and florals integrate with that slate driven minerality while still maintaining the high acids that make Rieslings sing. For those who are terrified of wines with residual sugar, you are also in the clear for this one. It’s as bone-dry as the sandy loam it grows on. Graham also gives his Kick-On Ranch Rieslings the full blown Austrian treatment of extended skin contact and barrel aging, so he considers this wine to have the greatest aging potential of all of his wines.
Kick-On Ranch Riesling? More like Kick-Ass Ranch Riesling. (Yes, I went there.)