Longoria Wines

Rick Longoria is a go-to guy for the south Central Coast, for all the right reasons. He’s kept his operation small and personal for a long time; he knows the farmers so he gets good fruit from interesting vineyards; and, best of all, he prefers understatement in all things, from how he talks to how much oak he uses. This is the second Clover Creek Vineyard Syrah from Longoria, and I’m recommending the program as much as this particular wine.

There are plenty of Syrahs on the market now that are “complex” because of five different clones from four different vineyards on three different rootstocks with six different kinds of barrel aging. That would not be Longoria’s approach. The Clover Creek Vineyard is small, it has two clones in it, and one of them is the bedrock Estrella River clone that Gary Eberle introduced into the Central Coast (and California, for that matter) decades ago. Less than a quarter of the barrels used in the wine were new, so what you taste is pretty much what the farmer grew.

You can tell this is a Longoria wine with one sniff: balanced, seamless mixed fruit aromas that aren’t shy but aren’t crawling out of the glass at you either. The wine makes a good brambly Syrah entry with bright acidity in the mix from the beginning, and the ripe berry flavours are like the aromas: mixed black and red, harmonious, and bold without being overbearing. The tannins are truly dry rather than astringent, giving the wine a firm foundation that enhances its length. You might not be impressed with this on its own, but taste it next to half a dozen other Santa Ynez Syrahs at the price and you’ll see what I mean: an immediately pleasing wine with additional interest for thoughtful imbibers.

Reviewed June 11, 2008 by Thom Elkjer.