Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir Santa Barbara County

Au Bon Climat

Other · Pinot Noir
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Critics Average score from professional wine critics and publications.
90 /100
Reviews
1
professional

Vintages

1
2008 Other 89/100
Pinot Noir
NV

Community Reviews

39
39
Reviews
89.4
Avg Score
95
Highest
Taster #4702 · Apr 23, 2022
91/100
Still one of my favourite purchases after all these years. This example is starting to get a bit dusty which means I'm chuffed that I've consistently experienced it throughout it's life. Delicious!
2008 vintage
Taster #4702 · Mar 3, 2021
92/100
Got a case of these and it seems to be right about at its peak. It's gonna be pretty hard to resist these now
2008 vintage
Taster #5416 · Apr 21, 2018
95/100
Clear light red. Beginning to develop some nice Burgundy style funk. Beautiful spicy cherry fruit and some nice earthiness, quite intense nose. Delicious balanced red fruit and spice flavours with a hint of brown sugar. Perfectly dry and balanced. What a great wine.
2008 vintage
Taster #4565 · Sep 30, 2017
93/100
Pinot nose with a dark edge: Maraschino cherries, cranberries, big cola, scorched Earth, graphite and blood orange. The palate is quite smooth, but the tannins haven't gone quiet - they're still dusty and chewy. The acid is bright but doesn't overwhelm. Alcohol is nicely integrated. The fruit is red and juicy with Bing cherries, blood orange, huckleberry and plum. There's decent amounts of cola, smoke, wet soil, nutmeg and saline. A bit perplexing, but in an intriguing way, this is …
2008 vintage
Taster #0637 · Jul 16, 2016
Another Santa Barbara Trip; 7/15/2016-7/16/2016 (Los Olivos, Santa Barbara) : Shows nice secondary characteristics; a touch of browning on the edges. Reddish earth on the nose, with some soft strawberry notes as well. Good depth, and somewhat similar in style to the previous wine, though showing less spice. Soft finish.
2008 vintage
Taster #7563 · Apr 8, 2016
94/100
Smoky, barnyard, rich almost opulent but elegant. Burgundian barnyard. Fruit not forward, but behind minerality and earth. Even bit feral, animal. Some brown rims starting to show on this 2008. We think it could evolve another 2 to 4 years. Yummy, yummy paired with Confit Canard.
2008 vintage
Taster #7563 · Aug 16, 2015
90/100
At tasting room in Santa Barbara. Burgundian Cali Pinot if there ever was one! Bien nascido indeed
2008 vintage
Taster #5752 · May 23, 2015
92/100
Clear medium ruby color. Nicely melded aromas, secondary and primary- notes of fig, clove & vanilla, curry powder, hibiscus tea. Richly layered dusty fruit and complex earthy spice on the palate, with just a touch of oak showing. Stately but with a fine degree of finesse. Medium+ acid and polished fleshy fine tannin that shows a nice silky weight throughout. Finishing notes of lingering spice and sweet fig with moderate length. Excellent- drinking very well.
2008 vintage
Taster #1995 · May 10, 2015
90/100
Medium red color, more brick than scarlet with leather and a bit of cedar on the nose.Rich red fruits on the front and mid. Acid is present and kicks in towards the finish which is the weaker end of the wine. The end seems a bit disjointed with an odd lingering element but overall a nice product. Not going to be everyone's cup of tea but for me the strength up front make it worthy of the rating.
2008 vintage
Taster #0637 · Mar 7, 2015
Ojai/Santa Barbara (Ojai and Santa B) : Nice nose with a musky, perfumed nose with hints of ripe melon and strawberries. Good acidity; this is a bit richer than previous bottles and has a hint of structure on the finish.
2008 vintage
Taster #4345 · Dec 14, 2014
87/100
Balanced, flawless. Some red fruit, some earth, good balance of acid and tannin. Not sweet, nor bitter. Etc, etc: a bit boring, then, is what I'm getting at. If all 20-25USD pinot were like this, yes, it would be a better world, but there's no excitement here - not for me, and not at this price.
2008 vintage
Taster #2551 · Aug 1, 2014
88/100
Fine, a little thin and light on the body. Good value.
2008 vintage
Taster #1395 · Oct 30, 2013
92/100
This Pinot is a rock star.
2008 vintage
Taster #6856 · Aug 12, 2013
90/100
45 min decant- medium bodied, no heat, decent finish, should hit prime in 1-2 years. Average value.
2008 vintage
Taster #1395 · Jul 1, 2013
91/100
Bam! Love this Pinot! Best on day 1.
2008 vintage
Taster #5752 · Jun 30, 2013
91/100
ABC Tasting Room in Santa Barbara- Pinot Noir flight; 6/29/2013-6/30/2013 : Light in color. Aromas of earth, savory spice and cranberry. Pretty palate of bright cherry and raspberry fruit with earth, floral and sassafras notes- richly layered. Good acid with silky fine tannins and a full finish of spice and fruit. Very nice.
2008 vintage
Taster #0771 · Dec 10, 2012
88/100
medium ruby color and restrained cherry and herbal nose which opened a little on day 2. This was medium bodied with sour cherry fruit and a little clove/cinnamon spice character and nicely balanced finish. Not complex or long, but good overall character and good with food. Not big and jammy like too many California pinots, which apparently reflects the cooler Santa Barbara vineyard sources. I liked this at least as much as a number of Bourgognes that I have had …
2008 vintage
Taster #6975 · Mar 24, 2012
87/100
Nice Pinot Noir. Light in color, light bodied. Hints of tart cherries, easy drinking. Not overly complex. A decent wine for $20.
2008 vintage
Taster #5472 · Feb 20, 2012
87/100
An interesting example from cool St Barbara. More to the elegant side rather than the jammy/full bodied. Relative simple nose showing intense leafy vegetality, mostly red fruit together with toasted oak. Supple but lacking excitement on palate with vivid acidity and medium ripe & velvety tannins. Well balanced with medium full body. Not particularly long length. Easy drinking combining red fruit and vegetality. Overall an expressive and mellow wine to be enjoyed over the next 2-3 years.
2008 vintage
Taster #3413 · Jan 1, 2012
90/100
Drinks like a nice village Burgundy. Great QPR.
2008 vintage
Taster #6066 · Nov 18, 2011
89/100
Light bodied. Nice earthiness. Drinks likes an inexpensive burgundy. Excellent for 20 bucks.
2008 vintage
Taster #6008 · Oct 22, 2011
89/100
Candied cherries and spiced fruit.
2008 vintage
Taster #3487 · Sep 20, 2011
89/100
This is a light, lovely Pinot Noir, without the complexity of say, a really good burgundy. Cherry and raspberry predominate, with a hint of pepper, minimal tannins, and good, not great, acidiity. At 19 bucks its a great value. A really good, but not great, Pinot, a very good food wine or drink alone.
2008 vintage
Taster #5229 · Sep 17, 2011
excellent, as usual
2008 vintage
Taster #4702 · Sep 7, 2011
88/100
Fresh and a bit lush, this was a nice surprise. Spice and crushed berry on the nose. Served slightly chilled and paired with grilled halibut and yellow squash. Pretty solid PN for $18.
2008 vintage
Taster #4960 · Sep 6, 2011
87/100
Immediately tart, bright, youthful and vibrant. Paired brilliantly with hummus.
2008 vintage
Taster #6332 · Aug 10, 2011
Popped and poured. Muted nose. Strawberry palate. Opened up over time to reveal a nice candy nose. Drank with salmon.
2008 vintage
Taster #1429 · Jul 16, 2011
85/100
Simple cherry and strawberry with a hint of spice. Opened just a little with some time.
2008 vintage
Taster #9463 · Jun 13, 2011
84/100
Very fruity, heavy strawberry.
2008 vintage
Taster #1901 · Jun 4, 2011
89/100
Lighter in color. Prominent and interesting spice and licorice nose. Strawberry and cherry flavors. Takes two hour to develop.
2008 vintage
Taster #5713 · Jun 3, 2011
89/100
Elegant long finish
2008 vintage
Taster #2368 · May 27, 2011
88/100
Just ok. Really fruity
2008 vintage
Taster #6913 · Apr 24, 2011
91/100
Bright cherry flavors. Smooth throughout with a hint of blueberry on the finish. We love it at Aureole with friends and it paired well with all of our dishes.
2008 vintage
Taster #7266 · Apr 23, 2011
89/100
Super smooth drinker. Cherry and strawberry notes with light acidity. Low alcohol content and not overly oaked make this a great sipper. I liked it a lot.
2008 vintage
Taster #0905 · Apr 4, 2011
88/100
Wine started off very fruit forward and Californian, but relatively simple. As it opened up over an hour+, got more earthy, funky, and complex. Its not blowing my mind, but I would probably purchase again.
2008 vintage
Taster #2485 · Apr 2, 2011
88/100
Consistent with earlier bottle. Strawberry, red cherry & nice spiciness. A little bottle-funk at first, but blew off quickly. Could be great to keep around as a daily drinker.
2008 vintage
Taster #9242 · Mar 23, 2011
88/100
Black cherry, red licorice, black licorice on the nose. Black and red berry notes, somewhat stemmy, acidic and ripe. Complex and ripe, but without the finishing intensity to be truly haunting. (This has improved from the last time I had this, has picked up volume.)
2008 vintage
Taster #7353 · Mar 18, 2011
89/100
Deep brick red color, good nose, but a highly tannic and very thin wine, with good acidity. Needs some aeration to bring out some slight berry, cherry, and pepper. Not a bad value, but it better pair nice with whatever else you are having because it won't stand on its own.
2008 vintage
Taster #0584 · Mar 11, 2011
91/100
Cincinnati Wine Festival (Cincinnati, OH) : Ripe nose, elegant. Glycerin. Delicious! Strawberry, dark, balanced.
2008 vintage