2001 Au Bon Climat "Sanford & Benedict Vineyard" Santa Ynez Pinot Noir

2001 Au Bon Climat "Sanford & Benedict Vineyard" Santa Ynez Pinot Noir

Au Bon Climat isn’t just a winery, it’s one of the Central Coast’s origin stories. Founded in 1982 by Jim Clendenen and Adam Tolmach, it landed at a moment when Santa Barbara County had barely a dozen producers and almost no international reputation. Those early 1980s vintages came out of a converted dairy barn near Los Alamos, made by two guys doing everything themselves from vineyard work to hand deliveries. Money was tight, but ambition wasn’t. Clendenen had just come off long stints in Burgundy and brought that mindset home. Whole cluster pressing, barrel fermentation, patience on lees, and above all restraint. In an era when California was drifting toward ripeness and power, ABC leaned the other direction. Think tension, acidity, and a quiet kind of confidence. The bet paid off quickly. By the mid-1980s, Au Bon Climat was earning attention for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir that felt more Côte de Beaune than California sunshine, helping put Santa Barbara on the global map. Today, those early bottles read like a thesis statement of modest origins, Burgundian soul, and a house style that hasn’t chased trends since day one.