Region: Santa Barbara, California

Vintage: 2018

Composition: 100% Pinot Noir

History: After completing an informal internship with the legendary Jim Clendenen of Au Bon Climat, Paul Lato began making his own wine at Central Coast Wine Services, an incubator of numerous talents over the years. Then, as he puts it, “Robert Parker, by a stroke of luck, tasted my 2002 vintage about a year and a half after it was made. The wine was bottled, but I didn’t have a label or a name for my cellar.” Then Parker, who tasted both Pinot Noir and Syrah, looked at me and said, “You have real talent. Hurry up with those names, I want to be the first to write about you.”

Tasting Notes:

“The Pinot Noir Seabiscuit has a complex bouquet of spiced red berry fruits as well as forest floor, loamy earth, baking spices, and some sea-like brine and iron nuances. Beautiful on the palate, it’s tight, structured, and focused, with medium to full-bodied richness, present tannins, and a great finish.” – Jeb Dunnuck