Au Bon Climat – My First Wine Tasting in Santa Barbara – Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail #11

This is a post in my Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail Series. See the summary article here for general Wine Trail info or to read about the 27 other wineries!

Au Bon Climat was my first stop along the Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail. I had just purchased my membership card and had to pick it up at a tasting room. I randomly selected Au Bon Climat in the Presidio section of the wine trail and called them up to ask if they had any of the membership cards in stock. They did so I headed over to start my very first wine tasting experience in Santa Barbara.

As I opened the door to the Au Bon Climat tasting room on Anacapa Street, I was immediately hit with the awesome smell and feel of a winery. The dank corkiness smell and cool temperature of the room hit my senses with a proper dose of wine tasting nostalgia. I instantly felt like I was in a proper winery in Napa or Bordeaux instead of just a tasting room on a city street.

It was a random Thursday in the early evening, so the place was not busy, with only a handful of fellow wine tasters mulling about the beautiful and spacious tasting room. I slid up to the bar and was happily greeted by the tasting room associate who helped me set up my Urban Wine Trial card and educated me about how the whole deal worked.  Her name was Miranda D. and she was my amazing guide through my Au Bon Climat tasting experience. I designate her with her last initial as she later informed me that there are multiple Miranda's in the other Santa Barbara tasting rooms along the trail.

I was able to choose which flight I wanted, and I picked the reserve flight because I love me some Pinot Noir and the reserve flight included some of Au Bon Climat's more well known and cornerstone examples of this grape.

Miranda was kind enough to start me out with their 2016 Tocai Friulano from the Classic flight side, which she made me try to pronounce, claiming it is such a fun wine type to say aloud. Maybe so, but all I know is drinking this wine was quite fun in itself, even if you cannot properly pronounce it. It was a perfect start to the tasting. The wine was not as sweet as one might expect the starter white wine to be. It had subtle fruit with strong acidity and an oaty and bready finish. Much more complex that most Italian Whites I have had the opportunity to taste. It was a wine that could be drank on its own or could hold up to lighter foods as well.

Next we moved on to the Reserve side of the menu. The 2016 Hildegard was delicious. It was a blend of 3 white wines, none of them Chardonnay, and yet it tasted like a classic California Chardonnay, with all that toasted butteriness you come to expect from this category. What set it apart was a subtle herbaceousness that permeated the middle of the flavor profile. The Hildegard was a fun drinking wine with an equally fun story behind its name and one that you should look forward to trying if you visit Au Bon Climat!

Next up was the series of Pinot Noir wines. I was not a big fan of the 2015 Los Alamos Pinot, it was a bit bolder and had a lot of tart fruit flavors that just did not vibe with my palate. On the other hand the next 3 were all very delicious, with slightly different flavor profiles, but all tasting like a classic, smooth, balanced Santa Barbara Pinot Noir. My favorite was the 2015 Runway Pinot Noir. It had a delicous smell and was perfectly balanced. It was a bit less sweet than the other two, but still had fantastic fruit flavors.

As I was tasting my way through the flight, Miranda and I had a wonderful conversation about the Santa Barbara wine scene. She gave me a paper version of the Santa Barbara Urban Wine Trail map and gave me a run down of the different wineries and the cool people I should make sure to meet at each one!

Finally, I had mentioned that I was surprised that Au Bon Climat made a single varietal wine from Petit Verdot grapes, which is one of my favorite flavored wines. I love the meatiness of the Petit Verdot and I am a big fan of it alone as well as in Cab blends. Miranda was super nice and poured me a little taste of their 2012 Petit Verdot. It was a perfect representation of this grape varietal: meaty and flowery at the same time.

That concluded my tasting at Au Bon Climat. I really enjoyed their wines and I thought that the tasting room ambiance had a perfect balance of a classic and traditional winery feel while feeling very friendly and welcoming at the same time. The vibe was good and the service was great! The Tocai Friulano and Petit Verdot wines from the classic tasting menu were delicious, high quality wines that were offered at reasonable prices. The Hildegard and top end Pinots (all $50) from the reserve flight were amazing as well, but definitely on the higher end price scale, matching their high quality and reputations.

Overall it was a fun spot with a great atmosphere to taste some very high end and high quality wines. Whether you are an experienced wine taster or you just want to get acquainted to the Santa Barbara classic varietals, Au Bon Climat should be on your list of top wineries to visit in Santa Barbara.

- Visited on October 4th, 2018.