Dusty Nabor is a character, completely appropriate for the Garagiste festival. Working with Karin Langer, his eponymous winery produces mainly syrah, grenache, cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay, and the occasional pinot noir. They source grapes mainly from nine vineyards in the Santa Ynez Valley. He was kind enough to share a pinot with us.
Dusty Nabor
The Wine
The 2020 Radian Vineyard Santa Rita Hills AVA pinot noir is pretty terrific. We were greeted with aromas of black cherries, blackberries, and blueberries with a hint of mineralogy. The palate is rich, almost a filet mignon. Flavors of forest floor, more black fruit, with assertive tannins and acid. If you have this in your cellar, give it a few more years. If you don’t, I hate to bring bad news, but the winery is out of stock. In fact, they have no pinots currently available.
Dusty pouring
The Story
Dusty’s first vintage was 2015. He is the owner, winemaker, and chief chemist. Current production is 1,000 cases. He got started at a local custom crush facility where he “figured it out.” The custom crush went out of business, Dusty acquired their equipment and went into business. Today, he works with Karin Langer to produce excellent wines. From the website:
Dusty Nabor Wines is a project born out of passion for producing site specific, terroir driven California wines. Our singular focus is crafting wines of distinction. Sourcing fruit from premier vineyards in Santa Barbara County including the Sta. Rita Hills AVA, Ballard Canyon AVA, and Los Olivos District AVA, we strive to create wines that express their place and vintage.
Dusty and Karin
