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in the press video clips Rebecca and Peter recently went to visit Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV. Learn all about the art of blending on these two episodes! The Ventura County Star’s Lisa McKinnon recently took a tour of Lompoc’s urban wineries, including “Pinot Prison”, our little cluster of garagista wineries out here on the western edge of town. Check out the video! Peter explains our farming philosophy press clippings
92 points. Wine Spectator’s
James Laube granted a pair of 92 points to our 2006 “Lambda”
Pinot Noir and 2005 “Gamma” Syrah in the April 9th “Insiders
Edition”. He noted the Lambda Pinot Noir has “Aromas
and flavors of loamy earth, blueberry and wild berry are tight,
focused and concentrated, gaining depth and richness. Ends tightly
wound in a good way. Best from 2010 through 2015.—J.L.”
Male: Rose petals, orange peel, spiced Bing cherry and raspberry aromas. Round and fruity on the palate. Smooth mouthfeel with cherry and cranberry flavors accented by orange peel, chocolate, spice, and cherries with good acid tang. Mild drying tannins. Likeable for its acid. Female: Rich, ripe dark fruit on the nose accented by earth and spice. Lovely! Smooth and velvety throughout. Seamless. For full judging details and results on this interesting wine challenge, visit the Affairs of the Vine website.
"This wine is composed of the best 16 barrels from the 2005 vintage. Primarily Pommard clone with 2 barrels of Dijon clone 115. Aged in 56% new French oak barrels. Released one year after bottling. Very fruity aromas of rich black cherries, raspberry jam and a lovely oak accent. A notable entry of plush dark berry fruits coat the tongue, offering some cherry and pie crust flavors, and ending in a stylish and refreshing finish of admirable persistence. The ripe tannins are nicely held in check and the whole package is thoroughly satisfying. This wine was also tasted at home with the same impression. Our 2005 Lambda release was "Knocking on Heaven's Door": "Also tasted at home before the Shootout tasting. Lovely nose of fresh picked wild strawberries and raspberries. Well endowed varietal flavors of cherries and berries with a sidecar of gentle oak. Fresh and juicy, smooth in the mouth with caressing tannins and a pleasant acid lift on the tangy finish. To read The Prince's entire review, click here.
Appellation America has awarded us three medals in their “Best of Appellation” program. Our Gamma Syrah received a gold medal, and silver medals now proudly adorn both our Lambda and Rho Pinots. The Best-of-Appellation Evaluation Program is an on-going process of identifying the wines in each appellation which best express the character of the appellation and the quality of wine craftsmanship in the region.
ampelos was recently selected to be one the vineyards in the Certified Sustainable Winegrowing pilot program, which will grant certification to those meeting the robust guidelines of the program. To learn about this new program, click here.
View the episode here and see if you agree!
Sustainable Wine Tours recently came for a visit. Check out the video and see/hear what Peter has to say about growing wine.
"...the 2005 Syrah Alisos Vineyard... offers beautiful sweet, chocolaty, creme de cassis fruit intermixed with meat juice, underbrush, and forest floor notes. With lovely ripeness as well as opulence, it is best consumed over the next 5-7 years." 90 points
"Smooth and polished upfront, showcasing ripe cherry, raspberry and blueberry fruit, yet gaining traction, with a nice presentation of firm, loamy tannins that gain complexity and depth. Drink now through 2011." 91 points
We just received the word that our 2005 Syrache won a Gold medal at the prestigious Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition, and our 2005 Syrah brought home a silver!
Read the posts here.
Ampelos Click here to read the article.
The new Viognier, done in stainless steel, had apricot / peach aromas with a hint of flowers, and crisp acidity – a delightful wine. The "Epsilon" bottling will be a special small-production wine and will vary from year to year. This year's Epsilon Grenache featured bright strawberry fruit with enough stuffing to age nicely. Read the full description of the tour here.
AMPELOS Pinot Noir Sta. Rita Hills 2005 89-91 $35 /
$28 AMPELOS Syrache Santa Ynez Valley 2005 85-88 $28 /
$23
Jaffurs WIne Cellars: "A big wine, the inky/blue/purple-tinged 2004 Syrah Ampelos Vineyard reveals plenty of blackcurrant and black cherry fruit along with smoky, graphite notes, nicely integrated oak, terrific full-bodied intensity, and a long, heady finish. Consume over the next 7-8 years. 91 points" Samsara: For an American Syrah, the dark ruby/purple-tinged 2004 Syrah Ampelos Vineyard possesses abundant finesse and elegance. Attractive blackberry, blueberry, earth and pepper characteristics emerge from this dense, stylish delineated effort. Drink it over the next 5-7 years. 90 points" Click here to read the full reviews.
"Two years earlier, the Works had bought
82 acres in the Santa Rita hills, the appellation at the cool western
end of the Click here to read the full article.
"The Works have certainly become one with nature ever since. They sold their house in Orange County and moved to a ranch near Buellton to become winemakers. They now have 40,000 vines, mostly of Pinot grapes, and their own wine label called Ampelos Cellars." Click here to read the full article.
In the tasting conducted that day, Mr. Pitcher bestowed 92 points and noted the following about our Syrah: "Ampelos, 2004 Syrah, G ("Gamma"), Sta. Rita Hills - $34: Forward, fragrant, appealing scents of freshly crushed wild blackberries, shy mocha and a framboise high note. Luscious and velvety smooth with firm, supple tannins and nicely extracted blackberry fruit; fine balance and length with a mineral undertone emerging in the finish. An elegant, yet generous Syrah. October release. Score: 92" Mr. Pitcher also tasted the Jaffurs Syrah from our vineyard: "Jaffurs, 2004 Syrah, Ampelos Vineyard, Santa Barbara County - $42: Wildly fragrant nose of white pepper, violet, smoked meat and just-picked, freshly-crushed blackberries and black raspberries accented by anise seed and glove leather. Smooth, round and fleshy with deep, generous flavors, bursting with dark berry fruit laced with white pepper spice. This exciting Syrah is wonderfully comple and long. Score: 95" Click here to read the full article.
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James
Laube from Wine Spectator tasted our 2006 Pinot Noir from
Fiddlestix and reported in the February 2009 issue: “Spicy
cherry and candied apple flavors are intense, full-bodied, and complex,
holding onto the ripe fruit theme while remaining elegant and structured.
Ends with a blueberry and wild berry mix. Drink now through 2013.
189 cases made. 92 points”
The
Sixth Annual Pinot Noir Shootout results are in! Our 2005
“Rho” Pinot received a “Love at First Sip”
designation and 92 points! Results in this unique competition are
categorized by gender, and here’s what the men and women had
to say about our wine:
Wine
Enthusiast, December
Swirlz
recently interviewed Rebecca about the vineyard, winemaking, and
her most memorable wine experiences.
Gary
Vaynerchuk recently tasted & reviewed our Rho Pinot Noir on
his WineLibrary TV show. The episode featured one Pinot
Noir fro Sta. Rita Hills (ours), Oregon and Burgundy to “see
who had the chops”.
Wine
Advocate Issue 177
Frequent
e-Bob posters Ken Zinns and Steven Rigisich both had nice things
to say about the Pinot we poured at this year’s World of Pinot
Noir.
Ken
Zinns from Grape Nutz recently visited ampelos during a
tour of the Central Coast:
In
his Tasting Highlights column in Wine Spectator Online,
James Laube has this to say: “The ascent of California
Syrah is in many ways similar to the rise of Pinot Noir in the Golden
State. It's a rather recent phenomenon that is rapidly gaining momentum.
… I strongly recommend you take a look at what's happening
with Syrah these days.” One of the wines he really liked
was Jaffurs Syrah from ampelos vineyard.
September
11 propelled couple into winemaking
Remembering
9/11
Syrah,
at home on the coast