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CALIFORNIA – Water poured through a hole in the concrete ceiling.
The water was from a barrel being rinsed a floor above at the epic new winery that will house The Hilt, Jonata and The Paring. The spacious, gravity-flow winery has a barrel room three football fields long, automatic garage doors large enough for forklifts to hoist bins through, a bottling line, a sparkling wine line, an OXOline barrel system and Matt Dees, one of the most talented and passionate winemakers in the world.
As he scaled the catwalk that lines the tank room, he showed off the garage doors and pointed at a rail system for gentle pneumatic punch downs. In the temperature- and humidity-controlled barrel room, he explained how the winery functions like a giant train station, designed to deliver maximum results in the most proficient manner.
“A space like this is something you dream about,” Dees said. “You only want to build it once. The whole joy is building it. But, I also realize that in 20 years, maybe someone else is here and wants to do it differently. There’s enough room to admit things change, and it works for us but maybe not someone else.”
Outside, construction crews worked hard as a gentle rain fell. Saws buzzed, tape measures snapped back into place, and drills wound to life in anticipation of the July 1 opening date.
Located at the edge of the Sta. Rita Hills, the winery is the last stop before the windswept dunes of Jalama Beach, a desolate outpost ravaged by harsh winds chilled by the maritime influence of the frigid Pacific Ocean.
Dees can be excused for being as excited as a kid on Christmas morning; the state-of-the-art facility is a welcome upgrade. With the OXOline barrel system, Dees said “peak efficiency” is being practiced. Once it is in place, a barrel can be filled from overhead through the holes in the ceiling, steamed and cleaned. It never has to be moved, which matters in a facility that can hold 1,600 barrels.
“Sure, there’s a lot of romance in winemaking, but there also should be a ton of efficiency. I love efficiency,” Dees said. “Our other facility had one door for forklifts and us to enter. It was 10,000 feet of storage space, but it was a long line. If you wanted to move a barrel that was stacked four high on racks, you show up at 4 a.m., pull every barrel out, put them all back and now it’s 8 a.m.”
While Dees, his crew and harvest interns might not have the crushing shoulder workouts that make their T-shirts fit tighter, they’ll have more time to do what they do best – make wine.
“The biggest difference will be in our production,” Dees said. “Everything flows from the tank room through vertical holes in the ceiling, we let gravity fill the barrels.”
Because he’ll have the winery configured to his ideal setup, it’s exciting to see the wines that will be delivered. As we tasted in the barrel room, Dees started with chardonnay done three different ways.
There was a time when chardonnay couldn’t tempt Dees, but he’s fallen victim to its versatile charms.
The Hilt “Old Guard” Chardonnay 2016 ($52) saw no new oak in the fermentation process, and had tropical fruit flavors and a mouth-watering salinity. On the opposite end of the spectrum was The Hilt “Vanguard” Chardonnay 2016 ($52). It is a richer wine with a toasty nose and friendly round fruit flavors of dried apricot, pear and a flinty vibe. New French oak, which Dees said “protects the fruit in an odd way and gives backbone and structure,” was used on 90% of the wine. And he’s right, it grabbed the fruit flavors and gave them a big hug.
In 2016 and 2018, The Hilt bottled a late-harvest chardonnay. Fruit was left to rot on the vines and develop botrytis, a fungus that makes for a sweet, dessert-style wine. For the crush, he was dressed in mask and respirator; Dees described a “mushroom cloud of spores” that burst into the air. Opened “for a while” in the fridge, the wine was super rich, syrupy in texture with honey, honeysuckle and candy corn flavors.
Very little of what is made escapes the tasting room, but it’s an intriguing snapshot of how chardonnay can be manipulated.
“When I started here in 2004, never in a million years would I think I would be interested in chardonnay,” Dees said. “I hated it. There was some faux-phobia about oaky chardonnay. But, it’s the world’s greatest grape. I never thought I’d say that.”
Often in search of how to present the Jonata wines, Dees poured the Jonata El Alma de Jonata Cabernet Franc 2005 ($125) first. Even at 16 years old, there were grippy tannins, a perfume of dried violets and white pepper, flavors of mint, mushroom, aged balsamic and a touch of fig preserves.
“This is a very special wine for us,” Dees said about the wine that was 93% cab franc, 5% merlot and 2% petite verdot. “I can pick it out blind from a lineup. It’s the only wine ever I’ve tasted with a sensation of cooling, a feeling in your teeth and gums of menthol and eucalyptus. I love that wine today.”
Fast forward 10 years in the cellar for the Jonata Fenix Ballard Canyon Santa Ynez Valley 2015 ($75), a mixed bag blend of 47% merlot, 37% cab franc, 19% cabernet sauvignon and 4% petit verdot that had coffee grounds on the nose, but darker fruit flavors that obscured the fleshy tannins.
It was a morning of potential. The promise of a new winery and tasting room and the elegance of The Hilt contrasted with the classically structured wines of Jonata.
For The Hilt, Jonata and The Paring, they’ll call a great winery home. Under the watchful eye of a great winemaker.
Tasting Notes
Frog’s Leap Rutherford Napa Valley Estate Grown Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 ($92): There’s a dusty note; espresso or dark chocolate is unmistakable and at the core of the wine as it unfurls its blackberry and cassis flavors. The fruit was riper and flashier than previous tastings, which was awesome.
Noah River Pinot Noir 2019 ($13.99): Medium-bodied with black cherry and cherry cola flavors.
Poggio Anima “Uriel” Grillo 2019 ($15): Great texture as the dried apricot and melon flavors mingled with tropical fruits. A native Sicilian varietal fermented in stainless steel that still delivered enough body to balance out the fruit flavors.
Tassajara Monterey Pinot Noir 2019 ($13.99): Darker fruit flavors; cherry, plum, blackberry and a toasty, cedar note. Wind-powered turbines at the winery account for 100% of its energy.
• James Nokes has been tasting, touring and collecting in the wine world for several years. Email him at jamesnokes25@yahoo.com.