A supple, intensely flavored Pinot Noir with fine character (cherry, red currant, kola nut, plum, rosehips, black tea, nutmeg), light oakiness, good balance, and a long, lightly tannic finish. Warrants modest aging. 5 stars, exceptional.

Wine of the Week California wines don't feature here as often as I would like, or as often as perhaps they should. There are any number of wines I'd like to recommend, but the problem is usually price – expensive compared to wines from elsewhere. But that's just the way it is: land is expensive, there's a ready domestic market, etcetera. That said, the price of this single-vineyard Pinot Noir from the cool, coastal Santa Maria Valley seems eminently fair. With a few years under its belt, it still has sea-breeze freshness and sweetly fragrant cranberry, cherry and spice flavours, but there are now delicately mature, savoury, nutty, Earl Grey tea notes adding complexity. For those who want a world context: yes, it has Burgundian style, As for serving, it has good structure, so it's a wine for food, but I wouldn't overwhelm it with strong spices, heavily reduced sauces or sharp dressings, Herbs such as rosemary and thyme work well, and mature Pinot loves mushrooms, especially morels.

One aspect often overlooked by many people is how long it truly takes for a specific wine to be created. I’m not talking about aging or vine maturation but rather the formation of a soil composition which ultimately impacts the terroir evident in a wine. is keenly aware of what lies beneath their vines. Fossilized seashells, shale, limestone, and sand all make up the bench on which the vineyard sits. This idyllic location overlooks the Santa Maria Valley and the Sisquoc River. Within these plots, several Pinot Noir clones are sustainably grown for use in Cambria’s Benchbreak wine. The Benchbreak Pinot Noir showcases bright red fruit upfront with raspberry, cranberry, and rhubarb. These are accented by earth tones, orange rind and a light herbal quality. Raspberry is joined by pomegranate on the palate followed by a fine minerality and touches of oak.

The Santa Maria Valley in California’s Santa Barbara County is home to Cambria Estate Winery and Julia’s Vineyard. The planting at the vineyard began in 1974 making it one of the oldest Pinot Noir vineyards in the area. Mature vines yield the finest fruit, and it shows in the structure and complexity of the wine. Black fruits and earthy mineral lead the way with berry, violet and toasty oak notes filling in the finish. A nice acid balance makes for perfect pairing with our grilled salmon.

American Dream The cool climate of Santa Barbara County’s Santa Maria Valley ensures that this beautifully crafted Pinot Noir is awash with lots of red fruit — rich cherry and raspberry with notes of vanilla and spice. Perfect for a special occasion.

Coincidentally, Cambria had, in the past, released Bench Break Vineyard iterations of both chardonnay and pinot noir. I pulled this 2011 bottling from my cellar to see how well Cambria wines age. The short answer is very well. Black cherry, boysenberry, root beer and cola on the extremely expressive nose along with a spice regime of cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg. It has a soft and super silky mouth entry (aging in the bottle plays a big part) with black cherry and boysenberry again as well as candied violets, licorice, cedar and forest floor. While the fruit component is still very apparent, more of the latter savory flavors and spices (including brewed tea) are now seamlessly integrated into the mix. Delicious at 5 years old with no signs of fading anytime soon. Enjoy at will.

This has an intense but elegant black cherry nose and flavors with appealing spicy and vanilla notes. It's great by itself or with salmon, chicken, pork or cheeses. The wine is very drinkable and enjoyable.

Cambria uses five clones of pinot noir to create a round and fulfilling pinot noir with cherry notes, Asian spices and a hint of mushrooms.

Solid Santa Barbara County pinot noir does not come at any better price than this: from estate-grown fruit in Cambria's Julia's Vineyard on the Santa Maria Bench, just down the road from Bien Nacido Vineyard. This vintage shows the classic Santa Maria pinot nose of black plum, mulberry, root beer, cola, tree bark and forest floor. It's complicated on the palate as well with dark fruit, like black plum, mulberry and olallieberry, happily mixed in with strawberry and red raspberry. That's plenty of fruit for the barrel spices, like vanilla and cinnamon, to conveniently envelop and support. The dark fruit, as well as root beer, cola and forest floor, expand on mid palate and extend to the lengthy and luxurious finish.

To get a sense of why people fall in love with Pinot Noir, it's worth spending a little more money. The following wines, made by some of the top winemakers in the state, are all great examples of regional terroir—the distinctive character that comes from a specific soil type and climate. Plus, taken together, they essentially amount to a five-bottle master class in some of California's most significant Pinot Noir regions.

To get a sense of why people fall in love with Pinot Noir, it's worth spending a little more money. The following wines, made by some of the top winemakers in the state, are all great examples of regional terroir - the distinctive character that comes from a specific soil type and climate. Plus, taken together, they essentially amount to a five-bottle master class in some of California's most significant Pinot Noir regions.

Clean and subdued but never less than specific in its relatively pert, red-cherry fruit and showing a light touch of sweet oak in support, Cambria’s mild-mannered Pinot may be a bit smaller in scale, but it is a nicely balanced, well-defined, very user-friendly wine all the same, and it invites unceremonious drinking in the comparatively near-term.

You have to love this pinot noir purely for its generous, forward flavors. It's simply delicious -- but not subtle in the classic sense of Burgundy. At $25, it is one of the best pinot noir values on the market. Black cherries and strawberries dominate the flavor profile.

Moderately dark reddish-purple hue in the glass. A complex and alluring nose offers scents of black cherries, spice, wood shop, mushroom and sandalwood. Polished and very appealing with impeccable balance, offering flavors of fresh, spicy black cherries, with a hint of toasty oak in the background. Lavish, seductive and satiny, this is pure pleasure.

Medium reddish-purple color in the glass. Subdued, but likable aromas of dark cherries, berries and spice. An appealing rush of dark red fruits saturates the entry, expands in the mouth, and finishes extremely long and powerful. Hints of herbs and edible flowers add interest. Lithe, with supple tannins and appealing crispness. Very good.

Dark reddish-purple color in the glass. Very subdued aromas of black raspberries, aged wine cellar and oak. Rich, dense and deeply flavored with copious amounts of black raspberry and blackberry fruit and a riff of complimentary oak spice in the background. The lush fruit extract is somewhat buried in the structural tannins and the wine will need more time in the bottle to correct this. The finish is of special note with the dark fruited aromatics returning for several extended encores. This is a Cabernet drinker’s Pinot that is bit over the top for me, but is very well made in its style. Solid now, but may deserve more accolades in a few years. Good.

This is a rich and powerful Pinot showing aromas of black berry, black cherry, tobacco and citrus. The palate offers flavors of cherry cola, blackberry and barrel spice and finishes with floral and vanilla notes.

Moderately dark reddish-purple color in the glass. Beautifully perfumed with aromas of boysenberry pie glaze, dark cherries, black grapes, spice and just a hint of mocha. Very tasty core of moderately dark red, blue and black berries with an earthy undertone, well-integrated oak and a polished mouth feel. A quintessential Santa Maria Valley wine that has respectable power, good finishing length and enough spirit to be thoroughly satisfying. Very good.

...rich and dry, with black cherry and bitter chocolate flavors

A great drink for the price, this Santa Barbara pinot offers fresh cherry and strawberry notes with a nice earthiness that reminded us of burgundy. Silky mouthfeel and a mineral thread make it a show stopper at a very reasonable price. We loved it.

This easy-drinking pinot noir is a winner year after year. It is characterized by oodles of forward fruit ranging from cherries to blueberries. There is a dash of spice and pure vanilla extract. This is not a delicate flower in the world of pinot noir, but it is a good drink for the money.

Hop in your private jet and head down the California coast 250 miles to the Santa Maria benchlands in Santa Barbara County. The same Pacific Coast influence of morning fogs and ocean breezes affect grape growing in this fast-growing California region as well. Sourced from the oldest Pinot Noir vineyard in Santa Barbara County, this wine offers the complexity that comes from fruit grown on mature vines. Earthy and floral aromas mingle with cherry, plum and barrel spice leading to a rich palate that adds toffee, toast and mineral to the fruity base defined by the nose.

This deep-colored beauty from the Santa Maria Valley in Santa Barbara County is grown off the estate vineyard named for Barbara Banke and Jess Jackson’s youngest daughter, Julia. This is prize Pinot territory with the vineyard’s many clones, the age of the vines, the cool climate and the passion of Barbara Banke, who bought this property in 1986. The 2009 vintage — fairly priced at $25, and only released in mid-summer – is widely available. It sings with dark cherry, strawberry and pomegranate aromas and flavors. Texture is silken, tannins supple, and acidity gives nice structure. It has striking herbal/minerality tones on the finish. The winery is 17 miles inland from the Pacific ocean and a three-hour drive north of Los Angeles.