Pinot Noir Talley Vineyard
⏳ Drinking Window
2024 - 2030
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roasted duck, creamy mushroom risotto, seared salmon
✨ Technical Specifications
The collaboration between Au Bon Climat's legendary founder, Jim Clendenen, and the Talley family of the Arroyo Grande Valley is a storied chapter in Central Coast winemaking. Sourced from the Talley Vineyard, this Pinot Noir benefits from a unique microclimate where cool Pacific breezes sweep through the valley, tempering the California sun. The soils here, rich in calcareous clay and loam, impart a distinct mineral edge and structural elegance to the fruit. Clendenen's traditional, low-intervention Burgundian techniques—including open-top fermentation, manual punch-downs, and aging in fine French oak barrels from François Frères—allow the terroir to shine. The resulting wine is celebrated for its balance of vibrant red fruit, savory earthiness, and bright acidity, standing as a testament to a historic partnership built on a shared vision of restraint and longevity.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1982 by visionary vintner Jim Clendenen and Adam Tolmach, Au Bon Climat stands as one of California's most influential pioneers of cool-climate, Burgundian-style winemaking. Situated on the benchlands of the Santa Maria Valley and sourcing from iconic vineyards such as Bien Nacido, Sanford & Benedict, and the estate Le Bon Climat, the estate thrives within transverse valleys channeled by cold maritime airflow off the Pacific Ocean. Viticulture emphasizes sustainability, with key estate holdings certified organic. In the cellar, the late Clendenen's philosophy lives on through longtime winemaker Jim Adelman alongside Jim's children, Isabelle and Knox Clendenen. Vinification champions classical European restraint: whole-cluster pressing, native and selected yeast fermentations in François Frères French oak barrels, full lees contact, and unhurried elevage without excessive new wood or heavy extraction. Celebrated benchmark whites include the single-vineyard Bien Nacido K Block, Sanford & Benedict, and the flagship Chardonnay Nuits-Blanches Au Bouge, each exemplifying bright minerality, seamless acid architecture, and remarkable cellar longevity.
🍇 Grapes
Pinot Noir
🍷 ABV
13.5%