Who doesn’t love a saline drenched, red fruit-driven California Pinot Noir. For Pinophiles across the globe, there is something special and unique about the wines of Santa Barbara County. The terroir is something I have always loved in these wines that can show sandy or rocky tones alongside the red fruit profile. An ultra-boutique winery based in Santa Barbara County, G. Khan utilizes the talents of Liquid Farm founder and winemaker James Sparks who creates some incredible wines for his own brand.
James utilizes his deft touch to these wines that are very unique and subtle, making this brand very Santa Barbara meets Beaune. The brand was founded by proprietor Roy Kim who sought to create a brand that was highly Burgundian to satiate his love for French wines utilizing top fruit from the Santa Rita Hills. Roy purchased grapes from the famed Radian Vineyard which is known for its very cool location, producing very low yields and pretty fruit profiles at lower alcohol levels. Radian is the western most vineyard along Santa Rosa Road in Santa Rita Hills and the soil is composed of clay, loam, and diatomaceous earth giving a distinct minerality to the wine. Yields range from less than 1 ton/acre to less than 2 tons/acre.
I was fully enamored by the two G. Khan wines that I tasted which were very different, coming from the 2015 and 2016 vintages. The 2016 G. Khan ‘Radian Vineyard’ Pinot Noir (OB, 94) takes on more of a bright red fruit profile, with stunning tension and a silky mouthfeel. The more subtle 2015 G. Khan ‘Radian Vineyard’ Pinot Noir (OB, 93) is even more salty and earthy with a smooth texture and wonderful sense of weight. Learn more about these outstanding Pinot Noir wines at http://gkhanwine.com and here are my reviews of the new Pinot Noirs by G. Khan.
2015 G. Khan ‘Radian Vineyard’ Pinot Noir- Completely different and even more backwards than the 2016 bottling, the 2015 G. Khan ‘Radian Vineyard’ Pinot Noir is a stunning effort that shows really good nerve and density, with serious terroir. Needing about an hour in the decanter to he fully aroused, this unveils very pretty red rose petal tones alongside citrus embers, bergamot and smoldering stone accents. The palate is extremely elegant and refined, with fine-grained tannins tight hold in place a very pretty core of guava puree, cranberry and saline drenched blood orange zest. Dense and layered, with good nuance, this beautiful wine will surely gratify over the next decade. Drink 2022-2034- 93
2016 G. Khan ‘Radian Vineyard’ Pinot Noir- The seriously good 2016 G. Khan ‘Radian Vineyard’ Pinot Noir is a sensational new wine by the talented James Sparks. Immediately more aromatically expressive than the 2015 bottling, this reveals bright red currant and dried sage notes alongside shades of salted strawberry that all take shape in the glass. The palate shows a great veil of tension, as medium-bodied red fruit flavors collide with citrus rind and stony minerals. Gorgeous to consume now, this should hold well for at least another decade. Drink 2022-2034- 94
