The 2014 Sauvignon Blanc Tradition exudes gregarious notes of grapefruit, passion fruit, peaches and musk perfume. Medium-bodied with very good intensity and a nice suggestion of savory sulfide complexity, it finishes long.
The 2014 Sauvignon Blanc Les Pionniers presents a more powerful, phenolic expression of Sauvignon than that found in the Tradition. Orchard fruit, mint, white flowers and lime abound, but it is the wine's energy, delineation and finely sculpted personality that stand out most. This is very nicely done.
An alluring, toasty style, with lots of hazelnut and warm brioche notes leading the way for creamed melon and yellow apple fruit. Toast lingers on the finish, delivering a creamy mouthfeel and enough fruit for balance. For fans of the style. Drink now. 1,000 cases made.
An aspiring wine that has a big lick of oak spice at the start, which bubbles over into caramelized green apples and figs and a flash of boot polish. The palate is a touch hot, but there is a real marzipan and butter complexity.
A broad, creamy, languid style, with lots of warm brioche, butter and creamed melon and apple flavors. Lush and hedonistic in feel, but successful overall. For fans of the style. Drink now. 1,000 cases made.
A flamboyant Chard, packed with tropical fruit flavors and with a lavish overlay of smoky oak. Feels crisp and clean in the mouth, with a creamy texture and a long, spicy finish. Could use a bit more finesse and subtley, but glamorous and exciting.
More evolved color suggests consumption over the next 1-2 years is warranted. This is a medium to full-bodied, hedonistic, sexy, delicious, open-knit, tropical fruit-dominated (jammy peaches and apricots) offering.
Rich, with creamy fig, vanilla, pear, hazelnut and spice notes that are long and tasty. A delicious mouthful of Chardonnay. Drink now through 2005.
This wine has aged about like we expected to since we rated it 91points in our July 2001 issue. Big tropical fruit is still going strong, backed up by toasty, mentholly oak.
A rosé with a dark salmon color and a reasonably intense floral and red berry perfume, this is an attractive wine from the get-go. That impression of red fruits continues on the palate, with hints of strawberry, cranberry, watermelon.
COMMENTARY: Pink wines are a serious business. The Cambria Estate has successfully navigated this wine to move folks from the blush side to the bonafide rosé category, and this is no easy feat. TASTING NOTES: The 2016 Cambria Rosé of Pinot Noir exhibits loads of ripe red fruit and dried earth aromas and flavors. The weight and richness on the palate square puts this wine in the food wine category. Pair its intensity and crispness with fresh salmon sashimi.
The rose bandwagon is beginning to overflow. Cambria is on board with a crisp rose of Pinot Noir that inviting and refreshing and everything you could want from rose. Notes of strawberry and citrus, balancing acidity and a lingering finish that offers a note of peach.
This single-vineyard beauty is made in the full-bodied, oaky-leesy style that California wines labeled Gris usually are. With time, it has mellowed into something marvelous, a totally dry, acidic wine of unusual finesse and balance
A light and delicate Central Coast style with fresh cherry fruit and fragrant herbs. Wood spices up the finish, lending a sandalwood and smoked bacon richness. The texture is supple and soft, the delicate fruit persistent to the end. A satisfying Pinot for crispy duck.
Luscious dark raspberry fruit balanced by crisp herbs gives this wine a solidity and depth. Warm and spicy from the alcohol, it's well managed by the fruit presence, with a touch of pinot noir complexity in the finish.
Deep ruby red. Full-bodied. Highly extracted. Moderate oak. Chocolate, plums. Rich extracted palate with layered fruit through to the balanced tannins on the finish. Impressively proportioned and rich.
World Series
World Series!
Bright red. Powerful dark berry and cherry compote on the nose. Smooth, sappy and round, offering weighty black raspberry and bitter cherry flavors and slow-building smokiness. Tannins come up on the finish but are quickly consumed by the lush dark fruit qualities. This pinot is very attractive now but built to age.
Santa Barbara Dreamin'…Part Two The 2016 Pinot Noir Julia's Vineyard is a terrific entry-level offering from Cambria. Gracious, perfumed and silky, with lovely aromatic top notes and lively fruit, the 2016 has a lot to offer. Sweet red cherry, crushed flowers and earthy notes develop nicely in a wine that offers terrific quality for the money.
Santa Barbara Dreamin'…Part Two The 2016 Pinot Noir Mesa Terrace is done in a style that brings out an energetic, red-toned set of flavors. Bright floral notes add lift and perfume throughout. This is another selection, that while good, is not particularly unique or distinguished from the other wines.
Santa Barbara Dreamin'…Part Two The 2016 Pinot Noir Element emerges from hillside parcels on the property. A powerful, intense wine, the Element showcases the more powerful, earthy, gamy side of Pinot. While a good wine, I find the Element less intriguing and polished than some of the other wines in the range.
The 2015 Pinot Noir Clone 4 was the most impressive of these offerings from Cambria, and the best value too, wafting from the glass with a complex nose of spice, cocoa nib, plums, cherries and soil. On the palate, the wine is supple, plush and expansive, with velvety tannins, juicy acids, good concentration and length and a saline, savory finish.