During my recent trip to Santa Barbara County, Wes Hagen met with me at the lovely new J. Wilkes tasting room in Los Olivos. Wes is both winemaker and brand ambassador at J Wilkes, having joined them in 2015 after a 21 year run as winemaker and vineyard manager for Clos Pepe in the Sta. Rita Hills. He also created the successful AVA proposals for Sta. Rita Hills, Ballard Canyon and Happy Canyon.

J. Wilkes focuses on multi-vineyard blends that express the terroir of three of the Central Coast’s most interesting AVAs: Sta. Rita Hills, Santa Maria Valley and the new Paso Robles Highlands AVA. Their varietals include Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Noir, soon to be joined by Cabernet Sauvignon.

The wines have been good for some time, but Wes is leading them to show even greater purity, regional transparency and varietal character. He says they’ll be offering “really geeky wines from $20-$30.” I’m all for that. I got to try a variety of pre-release wines and like the direction.

I tasted a sample—not the final blend—of the 2014 J. Wilkes Cabernet Sauvignon Paso Robles Highlands. The wine portrays Paso Robles Cabernet very well with aromas and flavors of jammy cherry and black currant complemented by oak and spice. The tannins are fine and—for the moment—grippy, but will soften nicely in the coming months.

I also tried a 2016 blend of Pinot Blanc (60%) and Melon (40%) from Santa Maria Valley. The vines, with vinifera rootstock, were planted in 1972. This wine’s still in progress, but is very promising. It’s bone dry, medium-bodied and long with pretty, but concentrated, flavors of pears, apples, flowers and a touch of underripe stone fruit.

While we’re all waiting for these and other new wines to come out, I highly recommend giving the following current releases a try. The J Wilkes tasting room is located at 2963 Grand Ave., Suite A, in Los Olivos.

2013 J Wilkes Pinot Noir SMV 90+ 14.4% 750ml $30

Toasty oak, sweet red cherries and sweet baking spice on the nose. The palate is medium-bodied and fresh with fine texture. Flavors echo the nose with red cherry, spice, toasty oak and vanilla. Sourced from four vineyards in the Santa Maria Valley AVA.

2013 J Wilkes Pinot Noir SRH Sta. Rita Hills 90 14.5% 750ml $30

Aromas include a variety of red fruits, plus wood, spice, dried flowers and cinnamon bark. The smooth, medium-bodied palate features the same notes along with burnt sugar.

2012 J Wilkes Late Harvest Pinot Blanc 90+ 11.8% 750ml $30

Made with Pinot Blanc grapes picked at 41.1 brix, this dessert wine offers intense aromas of stone fruit—especially apricot and nectarine—and botrytis. The palate is sweet (18.8% residual sugar) yet juicy. The rich fruit and botrytis are present again, as are pretty spice and loads of honey. Try it with blue cheese or a fruit tart.

Copyright Fred Swan 2017. Photos courtesy of J. Wilkes. All rights reserved.