Firestone Vineyard Santa Barbara County | Los Olivos, CA

Firestone Vineyard Wine Tasting Notes

Reviewed by David Lee

Established in the 70's by the scion of the tire titan, Firestone Vineyards is the first vineyard in the Foxen Canyon wine trail in Los Olivos. Nestled in the rolling hills of Santa Barbara wine country, Firestone is historically famous as the first estate winery in Santa Barbara county and as oeno-cine-philes will tell you, it is more recently famous as the vineyard in Sideways where Miles, Jack and their lady friends escape a wine lecture and traipse through the barrel room. There are three daily tours where I'm sure they tell you all of this stuff but the Missus and I are there for the wine so we settle at the tasting bar and begin the $10 tasting ($4.90 if you don't want the Firestone logo glass).

It's only recently that I've shed my "red wine only" snobbery (you know what I'm talking about) and I've been consistently surprised at the quality of the whites that I've had the pleasure to try. Firestone's 2008 Sauvignon Blanc (Santa Ynez) is one of these surprises. It is crisp, citrusy and really easy summer drinking. While it could probably use just a hint more dryness, it's a really promising start.

Coming off the Sauvgnion Blanc, the 2007 Gewurztraminer (Santa Ynez) is kind of a disappointment, as is their 2007 Chardonnay (Central Coast). The Gewurztraminer is all citrus and spice with none of the lychee sweetness you'd expect and though the Chardonnay undergoes malolactic conversion, it lacks the buttery back note of a solid Chardonnay and is still a bit too tart for me.

Next up was Firestone's 2007 Cabernet Franc Rose (Santa Ynez) and it is truly a delightful wine. It's bright, fruity and refreshing and though it can stand up to a wide range of food - from seafood to braised meats - add a touch of sparkle and you suddenly have a whimsical dessert wine.

The 2004 Merlot Reserve (Santa Ynez) is okay. It's muted, hinting at mocha and some spice but it doesn't come together.

The 2005 Malbec (Santa Ynez) is a homerun. It's got everything you want in a good Malbec - it's a mouthful of leather, tobacco, spice and everything nice. For about a year or two, all we drank at our house was Malbec. This one ranks right up there with some of the best we've had.

The 2005 Cabernet Syrah (Central Coast) didn't have as much character as the Cab/Syrah I had earlier in the day at lunch. As a 60/40 Syrah/Cab blend, it's almost too soft on the palate. I'd be curious to see what this wine was like last year or will be like next year.

The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon (Santa Ynez) is big yet elegant. The Cab spiciness has nice currant and berry undertones. I'm not a big Cab fan but if you like them, I think this might be a good one.

After the tasting, the wine stewardess leaned in and said that since she had bottle of their 2005 Lineage Chairman Series open, she would pour us a taste.

Wow. Like any fine left bank Bordeaux, it hits the palate like smooth cola and finishes like espresso. The blend is 40% Cab Franc, 30% Cab Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 5% Petit Verdot and 5% Malbec. As we lingered, she continued to pour us from the bottle. As much as we wanted to buy a case of the Lineage, we chose not to because I know we'd find some way to break it. Instead, we bought bottles of the Rose and Malbec. The very nice and knowledgeable wine stewardess threw in a canvas bag with dividers to fit six bottles and a corkscrew. Every time you bring it back, you get a discount on your wine. I'm not quite sure what the corkscrew does.

The service was good. Our wine stewardess was not only very knowledgeable, but totally down home and down to earth. It was almost like going to your friend's ranch house and drinking some wine (not that we have friends who have ranch houses but you know what I mean).

At $10, the tasting is a deal. As for the wines, though there weren't great steals, they were all very reasonable (from $13 - $22/bottle; the Lineage was by far the most expensive at $60).

Overall, probably 3.5 star rating... not quite four, but not three either.

Firestone Vineyard Wines

Ratings and tasting notes coming soon!