Rio Vista Vineyard Calera Clone Pinot Noir
⏳ Drinking Window
Typically best enjoyed 3–10 years from the vintage release.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Roasted duck, wild mushroom risotto, seared salmon
✨ Technical Specifications
Sourced from the eastern gateway of the cool-climate Sta. Rita Hills AVA, the Rio Vista Vineyard Pinot Noir showcases the legendary Calera clone. This clone carries a rich history in California winemaking, famously rumored to have been selection-cut and smuggled from Burgundy's most prestigious grand cru estates. At Rio Vista, the combination of marine-derived soils, morning fog, and steady afternoon winds allows this low-yielding clone to develop thick skins and exceptional concentration. Dominion Tantara crafts this wine using traditional Burgundian methods, including gentle open-top fermentation and aging in select French oak barrels, resulting in a beautiful marriage of vibrant dark fruit and the savory, forest-floor complexity characteristic of the Calera clone.
🍾 About the Producer
Founded in 1997 in California's cool-climate Santa Barbara County, Dominion Tantara is an artisan producer renowned for its site-specific Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Sourcing fruit from celebrated Central Coast terroirs such as Bentrock, Dierberg, and La Encantada vineyards, the winery emphasizes low-intervention, Burgundian-inspired winemaking techniques that showcase the purity of each vintage. Its cellar regime prioritizes indigenous fermentations, gentle handling, and judicious use of French oak to produce focused, elegant wines of remarkable depth and ageability. In addition to its acclaimed single-vineyard and reserve Pinot Noirs, Dominion Tantara crafts refined, small-lot expressions of Chardonnay, Syrah, and Cabernet Franc.
🍇 Grape Varieties
Pinot Noir