Arête Wines: Noble Storm Wines

As is most often the case in my life just as I was beginning to lose faith I was given a little glimpse to what is peeking out over the horizon. Two and a half years ago I met a young, up and coming vintner from South Africa. Ernst Storm was working for Firestone Vineyards and Winery at the time, but told me about a project he and his wife were working on called Noble Storm. They wanted to work with the most prized vineyards in the area and attempt to craft minimal intervention wines with grapes that were picked for balance seeking to portray the fullest expression of each vineyard. I remember being very excited about their project and instantly took a liking to this starry eyed couple.

I moved away from the Santa Ynez Valley not long after that and unfortunately lost touch with Ernst. You can imagine my excitement when he contacted me at the restaurant a couple weeks ago. He had been talking to another vintner I had recently met with and thought it would be a good idea to get together and taste his wines. Of course I had no objections.

Ernst is currently the assistant winemaker at Curtis Winery and is seeking to bring the only remaining winery owned by the Firestone family back into a place of prominence focusing on Rhone Varietals. He is also slowly building his own Noble Storm label and it is definitely one you need to keep on your radar. His initial offering includes the 2006 Le Bon Climat Pinot noir from the Santa Maria Valley AVA within Santa Barbara County and the 2006 Santa Ynez Valley Syrah which was made with grapes sourced from the Ambassador's Block at Firestone Vineyard as well as from Block 15 in Fess Parker's Camp 4 Vineyard. Both of those vineyards are located in the Santa Ynez Valley AVA.

Growing up in South Africa, Ernst followed in the footsteps of his brother by studying Cellar Technology at an Agricultural School near Stellenbosch. After two years he was in the top 20 of his class and was asked to stay on for a third year working in the winery on campus. Upon finishing he took a job at Amani Winery and had the privilege of working under Rod Easthope, now of Craggy Range fame. It was here that Ernst fell in love with Sauvignon blanc as well as learned about reductive winemaking techniques, which limits the exposure of oxygen to retain fresh fruity flavors in the wine.

Wanting to expand his horizons and experience a Northern Hemisphere harvest Ernst came out California and landed in the Sierra Foothills. "I spent two years working in a warmer climate learning a lot about dealing with higher pH wines. Coming from a cool climate region, I wanted to make more balanced wines and I longed to work with Pinot noir and Sauvignon blanc so I went searching. I found Santa Barbara County and fell in love with it. In 2006 I was fortunate to have the opportunity to buy grapes from Jim Clendenin's organically farmed Le Bon Climat Vineyard. I started my own label with the idea of making small lots of Pinot Noir and Syrah with the intent to make wines with a strong personality of vintage and site. Hands on winemaking has always been very important to me, making sure I am there every step of the wines life. Working with small lots gives me the opportunity to employ thoughtful winemaking and to have a lot of control."

Fellow winemaker Gavin Channin says this of the Noble Storm 2006 Le Bon Climate Pinot Noir..."one of the more polished and balanced Pinot's from Santa Barbara that I have tasted lately, especially from that challenging year." I have to say that I agree. The color is a beautiful translucent ruby. I can tell just by looking at it that this will be a light, elegant pinot. On the nose there is the scent of wildflowers, fruit and just a touch of spice. With an alcohol content of 13.4 stated on the bottle I correctly assume that this wine is deftly balanced. Nothing green here, just loads of pure fruit balanced by focused acidity and the perfect frame of tannin. A touch of forest floor lurkes just beneath the baby fat waiting for a few years of bottle age to emerge. The finish lingers for minutes with loads of fruit and spice haunting my imagination. This is a classic Santa Maria Valley pinot noir with incredible balance that expresses the nuances of the Le Bon Climate vineyard.

The 2006 Santa Ynez Valley Syrah was not quite as well balanced as the Pinot, but enjoyable nonetheless. Coming in at 14.2% alcohol I am continually amazed at how much a wine can change with just one degree of alcohol. I know that this is Syrah and is never meant to be as elegant as a Pinot, but I still believe that even full bodied varietals such as Syrah and Cabernet still show better under the 14 and into the low 13 percent range of alcohol levels. That being said this wine was dark and meaty showing fruit intermingled with flowers and liquorice. Dark fruit balanced by red fruit suggests that grapes were probably picked at different brix levels and although I enjoyed the Syrah it was not nearly as memorable as the Pinot. If you prefer fuller bodied and dark to elegant and bright then you would probably prefer the Syrah. Until you try them both you will never know.

Remember, we will never change the state of domestic wine until we shift our buying power to the winemakers who are doing things the right way. Stop buying wine made by corporations or retired dot commers. Quit drinking spoofulated wines. Support the ones who care! Only drink wines with Arete!