2017 Ojai Vineyard Puerta del Mar Vineyard Pinot Noir Santa Barbara 750 ml

If love is blind, then that’s how we keep falling for Ojai Vineyard’s Puerta del Mar Pinot Noir.

We quickly sold out of the last vintage we offered after the Puerta del Mar was unveiled as a clear front-runner in a marathon blind tasting we conducted last year (it went on to become a top-rated member favorite). Amazingly, we recently crowned the 2017 vintage the unanimous favorite of a more casual wine barbecue in Lake Tahoe—where it was also served to us incognito.

Ever-mounting critical praise—like this bottle’s outstanding 94-point score—has made Ojai’s legendary Pinot Noirs harder and harder to find. But luckily Wine Access members have spoken loud and often (to the tune of 4.5-5 stars), enabling us to secure this newly-released Santa Barbara icon for just $39.

A standout for Jeb Dunnuck as well, this Pinot has all the classic aromas of macerated strawberry and cherry, forest floor, and bramble, but benefits from an added hit of cola, clove, and allspice after a few swirls. Silken, lithe, and pure, the crisp acid and supple tannins achieve a perfect balance, giving the impression of biting into fresh red cherries and raspberries. Complex hints of braised mushroom, kola nut, and five-spice linger on the ultra-nuanced finish.

The Puerta del Mar Pinot has always eschewed power in favor of a soulful poise and elegance. It proved just the ticket the first evening of a recent Lake Tahoe escape with a few close wine friends. One had gotten her hands on this 2017, whose slightly wild, savory character paired perfectly with the crisp mountain air. Tasting it blind, we correctly guessed this Pinot had to come from a similarly cool climate.

Before Ojai Vineyard’s iconic diamond-shaped label was even fully uncovered from under the brown bag, we exclaimed in unison, “Ah, Puerta del Mar!” In retrospect, it couldn’t have been anything else. 

Located even farther west than Santa Barbara County’s already chilly Sta. Rita Hills, Puerta del Mar is Ojai’s coldest vineyard. It’s a small site just a stone’s throw from the Pacific, but the vineyard sits within a bowl-shaped dimple in the earth, which protects the vines from what would be a relentless attack of frigid westerly winds, allowing exuberance to develop in the grapes, alongside layers of enticing and exotic spice.

On our last visit down there, owner Adam Tolmach told us, “With Pinot Noir, climate trumps everything.” He loves this site for the vivid expression of vintage that comes with its extreme temperatures. As one of the pioneers of the Santa Barbara wine scene, Adam founded the legendary Au Bon Climat with Jim Clendenen in the early 1980s, before starting Ojai to prove that cool-climate sites could produce the region’s best Pinot Noir.

With beautiful examples like this 94-point 2017 Puerta del Mar, Adam has made his point—and so have Wine Access members, with their glowing feedback on the last vintage we offered.

Our first order of business after returning from Tahoe was securing this wine. Don’t get left out in the cold on this gorgeous coastal Pinot.