PAUL LATO
In Paul Lato's own words: "From my experience of tasting the finest wines from around the world, all the greatest wines possess authenticity, harmony, and elegance. These are the qualities I constantly try to capture in my wines. The ultimate goal is to create wines that are seamless and textural with enough structure and balance to complement fine cuisine. In order to make wines of the highest caliber, I select unique vineyards that are cared for by talented vineyard managers committed to excellence. I strive to locate and source from not only the best vineyards but the best blocks within each of these vineyards. During the growing season, yields are restricted to achieve maximum concentration of flavor. Harvest is based on physiological ripeness, which changes depending on the vintage characteristics. Cellar work is based on minimal intervention, cleanliness and purity of intention."
"Perfumed aromatics of framboise, wildflowers, violets, spicy incense, and that classic salty minerality of the appellation all emerge from the 2024 Pinot Noir Atticus John Sebastiano Vineyard, a focused, medium-bodied Sta. Rita Hills Pinot Noir raised 18 months in 80% new French oak. It has ripe tannins and nicely integrated acidity on the palate. It's another beautiful, ultra-classic wine from Lato to enjoy over the coming 7-8 years, if not a decade. Drink 2026-2036." Jeb Dunnuck 97JD
"From a larger site purchased by Gallo in 2018, just outside of Santa Maria, the 2024 Pinot Noir Prospect Rancho Real Vineyard is incredibly spicy and perfumed, with savory red (and some darker, almost black) fruits intermixed with iron, peppery herbs, and sappy, sous bois and spring flower-like nuances. Aged 15 months in 70% new French oak, it's medium-bodied and nicely balanced, with ripe, integrated tannins, no hard edges, and a gorgeous finish. It needs a little bit of air to show at its best and should easily cruise for another 8-10 years if well stored. It’s another terrific Santa Maria release from the genius of Paul Lato! Drink 2026-2036." Jeb Dunnuck 95JD
"Darker ruby/garnet-hued, the 2024 Pinot Noir Stand By Me Drum Canyon Vineyard has complex aromas of red plums, spiced herbs, orange blossom, and bouquet garni. I love its nuanced, slightly feral aromatics, and it's medium to full-bodied and beautifully balanced, with ripe tannins and a great finish. Aged 18 months in 65% new French oak, it needs a year in the cellar and will drink nicely over the following decade. Drink 2027-2037." Jeb Dunnuck 96+JD
"A beautifully done Pinot Noir from a site in the Sta. Rita Hills, the 2024 Pinot Noir Seabiscuit Zotovich Vineyard has a slightly deeper, more plum-like hue as well as spicy, layered, complex aromatics of red plums, flowery incense, spice, and bouquet garni. Aged 17 months in 70% new French oak, it's medium-bodied on the palate, with a pure, graceful mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and a great finish. It has another decade at this level. Drink 2026-2036." Jeb Dunnuck 96JD
"Pale gold-hued, the 2025 Sauvignon Blanc O Sole Mio Two Wolves Vineyard has a great nose that reminds me of a top Graves Blanc, with ripe melon, citrus pith, minty herbs, white flowers, and maybe even a hint of white fig. Fermented and aged in a mix of concrete eggs, glass wine globes, and neutral oak for 18 months, it's medium-bodied on the palate, with a juicy, pure, elegant mouthfeel, beautiful overall balance, incredibly well-integrated acidity, and a clean, great finish. I'm a huge fan, and while I'd lean toward drinking it over the coming 4-6 years, I wouldn't be surprised to see it drink well for a decade. Drink 2026-2032." Jeb Dunnuck 94JD
"The light gold-hued 2024 Chardonnay Belle De Jour Donnachadh Vineyard is, as far as I can tell, Lato's first release from this organically farmed site along Santa Rosa Road on the southern side of the Sta. Rita Hills. Barrel fermented and aged 16 months in 50% new French oak, it has a pretty, classic Sta. Rita Hills nose of green melon, orchard fruits, crushed stone, white pepper, and white flowers. Incredibly crystalline on the palate, it has medium-bodied richness, remarkable focus, precision, and purity, just about flawless balance, and ample mid-palate volume, with an utterly classic, salty Sta. Rita Hills finish that makes you salivate. It builds with time in the glass, and its overall balance, concentration, and depth are spot on. I love it today, and it should have an easy 10-12 years of longevity. It's another example of the genius of Paul Lato and one of those wines I wish I could put in front of every reader. Drink 2026-2038." Jeb Dunnuck 98JD
"The 2024 Chardonnay Rincone Vineyard Done & Done is another standout in this lineup, reflecting the more savory, marine-tinged character of the Edna Valley. It's also another wine that feels a touch more dialed back than the norm here, which I find quite attractive. Crushed chalk, oyster shell, lemon blossom, chamomile and marine herbs open into an almost dusty-textured structure. It's uper elegant and nicely integrated. Fabulous stuff." Vinous 95VM
"Sourced from Pisoni Vineyard and brought up 16 months in 60% new French oak, the 2023 Chardonnay East Of Eden Pisoni Vineyard is light to medium gold-hued and offers exotic stone fruits, honeyed melon, spice, and some minty, herbal notes. Medium to full-bodied, it has a pure, layered crystalline mouthfeel, integrated acidity, and a fabulous finish. It's a rich, powerful, serious Chardonnay that will keep for 8-10 years. Drink 2025-2035." -Jeb Dunnuck, 97JD
"From the Solomon Hills Vineyard, not far from Bien Nacido, and brought up 17 months in 65% new French oak, the 2023 Pinot Noir Suerte is slightly deep ruby/plum-hued and shows spicy black cherries, black tea, orange blossom, and forest floor notes. It's incredibly complex and layered, medium-bodied on the palate, with a pure, seamless mouthfeel, ripe tannins, and some classic Santa Maria salinity on the finish. It too will keep for a decade. Drink 2025-2035." Jeb Dunnuck 97JD
"One of the standouts in the Paul Lato stable is the 2023 Syrah Il Padrino Bien Nacido Vineyard, sourced from 30+-year-old Estrella plantings in Z Block. Co-fermented with 5% Viognier, it leads with its characteristically complex and multifaceted bouquet, offering up purple flower, cracked pepper, incense, camphor and crushed stone aromas with arresting clarity and harmony. On the palate, it seamlessly melds a punchy, sumptuous texture and velvety richness with a polished framing, concluding with a focused, chalky and layered finish that lingers with myriad savory and spice-driven undertones. This developed quite rapidly in the glass, continuously gaining more and more structural integrity, focus and mineral-inflected backbone, suggesting a solid 15+ years of evolution lies ahead." Wine Advocate 96WA
"Medium to deep garnet-purple colored, the 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon Cavatina features expressive notes of stewed plums and baked blackberries, giving way to hints of Chinese five spice, tobacco, and bay leaves. The medium- to full-bodied palate is lightly chewy with a lively line cutting through the stewed black fruit flavors, finishing savory." -Lisa Perotti-Brown, 94LPB
"The 2023 Space Cadet (85% Syrah, 15% Grenache from Bien Nacido & Larner) is a velvety, silky wine that marries floral Granche aromatics with dark purple Syrah fruit, mocha, vanilla and spice. Chalky tannins and calibrated acids provide an impeccaboy balanced framework, all wrapped up in velvety smooth contours. The 2023 is impossible to resist." (Drink between 2025-2034)" -Vinous, 95VM" Vinous 95VM
"The 2021 Grenache Ora et Labora Bien Nacido Vineyard comes from 17-year-old Alban clone vines and was matured for 19 months in 25% new French oak. It has slowly unfurling aromas of black cherry and plum, lilac and lavender, plus touches of blood orange, mushroom and tobacco. The full-bodied palate is hedonistic with highly concentrated, fragrant flavors framed by powdery tannins, and its mouthwatering acidity and floral finish call you back to the glass for another sip. 100 cases were made." Wine Advocate 96WA
