Sanford & Benedict - 2014 - Jim Clendenen

100% Pinot Noir, from vines cultivated organically and planted in 1971 by botanist Michael Benedict and his friend Richard Sanford, who together founded the Sanford & Benedict vineyard located in the Santa Rita Hills appellation, in the mountains overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The wine was therefore made from purchased grapes of high quality. The grapes were harvested by hand at dawn, followed by a cold pre-fermentation maceration, gentle pressing, and 22 months of maturation in new French oak barrels made by François Frères. Neither fined nor filtered.
Jim Clendenen is undoubtedly the most emblematic figure of the Californian wine renaissance. And yet, nothing predestined him to play such a role... Clendenen was born in Ontario, in a remote region with very little access to wine and gastronomy. It was during his college year abroad in France in 1974 when during a month spent in Burgundy and Champagne he finally discovered “life beyond tacos”, as he likes to put it. He became so passionate about wine that he immediately decided to make a career of it, completely abandoning his law studies. Returning to California in 1978, he learned about winemaking over the course of three vintages at Zaca Mesa Winery. Then in 1982 he founded Au Bon Climat, based on the idea (rather crazy at the time) of creating an estate dedicated solely to Burgundy grape varieties. As the years passed, Jim planted his vines and, above all, sourced the best vineyards in the whole of California to provide himself with the highest quality grapes possible. A work of conviction and passion which has today elevated Jim Clendenen to the status of California’s most colourful and influential winemaker. His precise and minimalist vinifications, carried out with respect for each terroir, yield cuvées with strong personalities, in the image of the man and the winemaker.