Making fine wines starts in the vineyard. This could well be a sales slogan for Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards of California's Central Coast.
We recently visited this interesting winery located in Boelton, tasted barrel samples with Winemaker Megan McGrath and toured Los Alamos Vineyards with Louis Lucas, owner and Viticulturist. It proved to be a most informative as well as enjoyable experience.
In the short period of this century Lucas & Lewellen has enjoyed remarkable success with its wines. And as Louis Lucas has made clear it all starts with the location or terrior of the vineyard and how those vineyards are cultivated. He should know since he has been growing, first table grapes and now wine grapes, for most of a lifetime.
Add the experience of President Royce Lewellen., a retired Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge, and the talents and professional enthusiasm of Winemaker Megan McGrath and there is no mystery to the success the winery has enjoyed.
Quality rules at Lucas & Lewellen. It is one of the few wineries we have visited in recent years that uses French oak exclusively.
In the vineyards Louis Lucas told us that each vine is touched by human hands nine times in the course of a year. And here variety is the spice since one 300 acre vineyard we toured includes 21 distinct varietals ranging to Burgundian Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to Nebbiolo and Sangiovese from Italy's Piedmont.
With three labels Lucas & Lewellen offers a huge selection of wines, actually 21 varietals and 31 bottlings this past year. It all started in 1996 when personal friends Louis Lucas and Judge Royce Lewellen agreed to become partners in vineyards located in Los Alamos and Foxen Canyon. At first the grapes went to premium wineries located in all parts of California as well as Oregon.
But as Judge Lewellen stated the desire to make their own wines proved irresistible so in 1998 with veteran winemaker Daniel Gehr they started making their own vintages and have never looked back since. Daniel Gehrs has moved on but with Megan McGrath now aboard as winemaker future plans call for a new winery located at Los Alamos and even new varietals.
The three brands include Lucas & Lewellen for premium wines, Mandolina for the Italian varietals including well known Sangiovese and Nebbiolo but also lesser known wines like Freisa and Toccata. Popular priced wines are marketed under a highly visible Queen of Hearts label.
This Writer accompanied by colleague journalist Jeanne Bartlett enjoyed a long informative luncheon with Louis Lucas, Judge Royce Lewellen, Winemaker Megan McGrath, and Colleen Thompson who has been with the partners since the beginning as Public Relations and Marketing Manager.
This took place at a most interesting Cafe Quackenbush in Los Alamos which enjoys its own history as a general store dating back to the 1880s and is now an art gallery and cafe with a most talented chef in Jesper Johansson.
Here we discussed the present and future plans of both Lucas & Lewellen and the wine industry in general. And speculated on what the next varietal to take hold with the American wine drinker would be. Malbec, the Bordeaux native that is king in Argentina, was one candidate under discussion.
As we enjoyed a 2006 Mandolina Sangiovese with our lunch it also became a candidate as the next red varietal to capture the American fancy.
The three principal grape producing valleys in Santa Barbara county are the source of wines produced by Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards. These valleys include Santa Maria, Los Alamos and Santa Ynez. For the Lucas & Lewellen 2006 Chardonnay the grapes were from the Goodchild Vineyard, one of many lining Foxen Canyon reknown for producing outstanding Bungundian wines, chardonnay and pinot noir.
This vintage, with barrel fermentation, offers classic aromas and flavors of the varietal. We thought it one of the best chardonnays we had tasted in some time.
Lucas & Lewellen 2005 Pinot Noir is also from the Goodchild Vineyard and was aged in new and used French oak. All the qualities that make a good Pinot Noir are present here with rich aromas rising from the deep color. Smooth on the palate and ready to drink now.
Barbera, that Italian classic, has been a favorite of California vintners for generations. Mandolina 2005 Barbera was produced from a vineyard in Los Alamos and has enjoyed two years of aging in French oak. Hearty but with soft tannins this vintage can be welcomed at any dinner table.
We also liked the Mandolina 2004 Nebbiolo. Deep, dark in color the wine has rich aromas and offers the full range of flavors that this varietal is famous for. Twenty five months in French oak and 13.5 per cent alcohol make for a smooth vintage here.
Both the Lucas & Lewellen and Mandolina wines sell for under $30, pleasing the wallet as well the palate. The Lucas & Lewellen Tasting Rooms are located in Solvang at 1645 Copenhagen Drive and 1665 Copenhagen Drive for Mandolina wines. Call 888 777-6663. On the web at www.LLwine.com.
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