Today we share an outstanding house from Santa Barbara County. Dovecote was the site of a Native American village known as Cuaslui Creek (meaning “sliding place”), an important home to the indigenous people of California’s Central Coast who have lived here since at least 11,000 BC.In 1845 the area became part of the Mexican Land Grant known as Rancho La Laguna. It was later passed to the historic California settler Fredrick Wickenden as part of his marriage within Benjamin Foxen’s family, both of whom helped establish numerous parts of northern Santa Barbara County in the mid to late 1800’s.
Back in 1991 David Thompson and and Juventino Cervantes (the latter of whom still farms and lives on the ranch alongside his three family generations) carefully select 43 acres of south facing sandy limestone soil and plant the Thompson Vineyard, uniquely using the vine’s own rootstock. The Thompson Vineyard becomes just the third Syrah planting in Santa Barbara County and still one of the only own-rooted sites.
The new wines from this estate site are outstanding. I love the 2021 Dovecote ‘Noumenon’ Red Wine (OB, 94) which has gobs of flavor complexity with silky tannins and a lengthy finish. Learn more about this outstanding house at https://dovecotewine.com/ and here are my reviews of the new Dovecote wines.
2022 Dovecote ‘Estate’ Viognier- The 2022 ‘Estate’ Viognier comes for the Quail Valley Vineyard in the Los Olivos District. This is soft and elegant on the mouth with pear and lychee flavors alongside good tension on the palate. Enjoy now. Drink 2024-2029- 92
2021 Dovecote ‘Redtail Estate’ Red Wine- The 2021 ‘Redtail Estate’ is mostly Syrah and Mourvèdre. It is spicy and savory with good weight and a wonderful sense of salinity and tension. Smoked meats parade with cran-cherry and orange peel flavors alongside dusty soils. Medium-bodied, enjoy now and over the next eight to ten years. Drink 2024-2032- 93
2021 Dovecote ‘Mantle’ Red Wine- The really good 2021 Dovecote ‘Mantle’ Red Wine combines 52% Syrah with the remainder Grenache. It is very pretty and approachable now in its strawberry and red cherry fruit flavors alongside garrrigue, salty soils and shades of creosote on the palate. Enjoy now and over the next eight to ten years. Drink 2024-2032- 93
2021 Dovecote ‘Noumenon’ Red Wine- Sourced from the Thompson Vineyard, the ‘Moumenon’ is a 100% Syrah bottling that is seriously good to enjoy right now at the three year mark. Inky in the glass, this leads with Middle Eastern spices alongside dark currants, milk chocolate and beef brisket notes. The palate is fresh and refined with good tension and a light dusting of salinity alongside stony minerals. Generous and dense, this has some good aging potential. Drink 2024-2038- 94
2021 Dovecote ‘Estate’ Petite Sirah- The 2021 ‘Estate’ Petite Sirah comes off very inky in the glass. The core is concentrated and loaded with gorgeous black and blue fruits alongside dark chocolate shavings, graphite and lovely tension, with salty accents. Full-throttle and not for the weary, enjoy this gorgeous bottling now and over the next ten plus years. Drink 2024-2036- 94