published 10/8/20 in the Montecito Journal
For winemaker Paul Lato, “There’s a really big gap between 99 and 100.”
The celebrated
vintner, a Polish native who was a sommelier in Canada before he moved to the Central
Coast in 2002, has earned many coveted scores for wines under his eponymous
label, along with a fervent consumer following. But 100 points for any wine is
as illustrious as it is elusive.
That makes Paul Lato’s 2018 “Il Padrino” Syrah, for all intents and purposes, the perfect wine. The 100-point score comes from respected critic Jeb Dunnuck, who applauds the wine for exhibiting “everything I look for in a great wine: richness without heaviness, incredible complexity, a singular character, and the ability to deliver both intellectual and hedonistic pleasure.” He goes on to note its “masculine, peppery and gamey” characteristics.
The winemaker offers his own description: “It has ripeness, beautiful blackberry, cherry, with some vanilla and violet flavors. And there are other nuances that open up with decantation and with air, as the wine sits. You get different aromatics and structure. Tannins come up, the fruit changes, and the wine becomes darker in the glass.”
The perfect score
is a triumph not only for the artisanal Paul Lato label, which is a staple at
luxe restaurants like Montecito’s Lucky’s
Steakhouse and Santa Barbara’s bouchon,
but for the wine’s place of origin, too. Indeed, this marks the first time ever
that a wine harvested at Bien Nacido Vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley has
earned 100 points. The legendary vineyard was planted in 1973 by Santa
Barbara’s Miller family and remains one of the most sought-after sources in the
state for pinot noir and chardonnay, primarily, as well as syrah. Mr. Lato has
been contracting syrah grapes from the same specific hilltop block of Bien
Nacido for nearly two decades.
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| Paul Lato |
Descriptors from experts and fancy points aside, Mr. Lato says he’s committed to staying humble and to continuing to make wines that are defined, in large part, by where they’re consumed, and with whom. “Many times, a wine will make you turn to your spouse or someone you love, at sunset, with the barbecue on – and it makes you want to say, ‘Honey, life is good,’” he muses. “That can be a perfect achievement, and any wine can become a 100-point wine!”
The 2018 Paul Lato “Il Padrino” Syrah, with a retail price of $90, is sold out. The winemaker expects the price to go up slightly in vintages to come. The bulk of Mr. Lato’s 4000- to 5000-case annual production is vineyard-designate pinot noir and chardonnay wines from throughout Santa Barbara County, which can be purchased through his website, paullatowines.com.
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