2016 Santa Maria Valley Pinot Blanc - J. Wilkes Wines

Key lime, juniper berry, fresh kiwi. Grapefruit peel, honeysuckle, crunchy white peach. Perfumed jasmine and sage, crushed rocks and beach sand. Green mango, anjou pear, and lychee shine brightly in a bouquet complimented by bittersweet herbs, dry minerals, and a delicate kiss of botrytis. Candied ginger and lemon peel glide into frame as temperatures rise, finally finishing with a tingle of tonic water. This 2016 Santa Maria Valley Pinot Blanc by J. Wilkes Wines is a remarkably compelling yet unconventional white.

The rarest major member of the Pinot family, Pinot Blanc is a white-skinned grape most popular in Germany, Alsace, and Northern Italy. There are very few plantings of it in California and it is quite uncommon to find domestic producers who work with this grape. Although Pinot Blanc has been described as "useful rather than exciting" it has potential to create nuanced and interesting wine in the right hands. This bottling, crafted by J. Wilkes Wines, is probably one of the greatest Pinot Blanc's to come out of California. The fruit for this wine was sourced from a single block of old, own rooted vines in the legendary Bien Nacido Vineyard. This block was planted way back in 1973 and it was later discovered that around 18% of the plantings are actually Melon De Bourgogne. Although simply labeled as a Santa Maria Valley appellation wine, this is a true single-vineyard gem that can be purchased for pennies. Really impressive stuff.