With one of the highest-altitude vineyards in Santa Barbara County and the oldest Syrah plantings on the Central Coast, Zaca Mesa is an estate-focused winery in California’s pastoral Santa Ynez Valley that has championed its unique terroir for nearly 40 years. Thankfully, where you grow something makes it unique. And Zaca Mesa preserves and protects its uniqueness.

Zaca Mesa Winemaker, Eric Mohseni, makes a point of building on the winery’s legacy of following the estate-grown fruit’s lead. “It’s fashionable now to claim that we make our wines ‘in the vineyard,’” he says, “but we’ve really been doing that for decades. Every wine on our roster developed its own personality in the field. By the time it gets to the cellar, we just try to let that personality shine through.”

Nowhere is this terroir-driven approach to winemaking more evident than in Zaca Mesa’s white Rhône-varietal wines: Viognier, Roussane, and Grenache Blanc. Here, a look at these three wines by our tasting panel:

Grape(s): Roussanne

Winery: Zaca Mesa

Region: Santa Ynez Valley

Year: 2007

Special Designation: (none)

Price: 20-25

Review:

The nose is rich with floral notes, complimented by fresh figs, apricots, lemon, sweet spices, and minerals. The palate is a nice refection of the nose with a round, slightly creamy mouthfeel. A wine with a good balance of floral suggestions and fruit, it’s more complex than many white wines out there.

Rating: 90

Character: floral, lush fruit, balanced acidity, supple mouthfeel

Farming Certification: (none)

  

Grape(s): Viognier

Winery: Zaca Mesa

Region: Santa Ynez Valley

Year: 2009

Special Designation: (none)

Price: 15-20

Review

On the nose, aromas of peaches and apricots flow into suggestions of springtime flowers and a hint of caramel. The palate offers notes of peach, melon, and apricot along with chalky floral notes and a hint of lemon. A floral, supple wine with a nice balanced acidity, if you enjoy mouth-filling wines without the creaminess of oak, give this bottle a try.

Rating: 88

Character: floral, supple moutfeel, balanced acidity

Farming Certification: (none)

 

Grape(s): Grenache Blanc

Winery: Zaca Mesa

Region: Santa Ynez Valley

Year: 2008

Special Designation: (none)

Price: 20-25

Review

Aromas of stone fruits, honeydew, and apple are rounded out by a touch of caramel. A sip unfurls notes of melon, peach, apple, and lemon accented by suggestions of minerals and a hint of white pepper. A round, easy going wine with balanced acid, it’s dryer than most Chardonnays but creamier than Sauvignon Blancs. If you’re looking for a nice middle ground, this is a bottle to try.

Rating: 88

Character: supple mouthfeel, lush fruits, light acidity

Farming Certification: (none)