Notable
Photo credit: Rosenthal Photography
As all of you likely well know, wineries frequently rely on press, reviews, or scores to promote their wines. We feel these critical bits of information can be very helpful in painting a picture of a winery, vineyard, and the specific wines from each vintage. However, it has never been our way of promoting our winery. We don’t hide from these publications, we just don’t tend to quote, circulate, or focus attention on them. Ultimately, that may be because the scores and descriptions are readily available. Anyone wishing to know those details about any wine can get them with a few ‘clicks’.
While we have been the beneficiaries of some very gracious and generous reviews, there are a handful of comments and events that have been particularly touching for us. The following is a brief list of reactions to our wines that have been both humbling and inspirational to us. During harvest and crush when we may be feeling a little tired these comments remind us our goals and that the extra mile is recognized, appreciated, and best of all- enjoyed.
“2015 Syrah Seymour’s… It’s one of the greatest Syrahs I’ve tasted not only from Alban but from California.”
“…Syrah is the most exciting new wine going. Leading the pack is John Alban, who was the first vintner in California to devote his vineyard exclusively to Rhone-style grapes. His 2000s are stunning, among the most distinct and compelling I’ve had in more than 30 years of drinking wine.”
“It is fair to say no one has done more for the Rhone Ranger movement in this country than John Alban. First and foremost, the Alban wines have led the way in terms of quality for many years. A founder of the hugely successful Hospice du Rhone, Alban has also planted and developed a number of clones that bear his name and that are used widely throughout California.”
“ Alban Vineyards. This winery founded by John Alban in 1986, was the first in California entirely dedicated to Rhone varieties…He is the state’s acknowledged master of the fickle Viognier grape.”
“…Alban’s fellow vintners so willingly acknowledge him as a leader….no one is more committed to broadening the national palate while at the same time elevating standards than this American winemaking rebel…”
“Artisan Winery of the Year 2000: Alban Vineyards. John Alban is California’s ambassador for Viognier, a risk-taker who understood before anyone else where the variety needed to be grown and how it should be made. His wines are as universally well-liked and respected as he is”
“John Alban…defied the received wisdom by turning his property into one of this country’s greatest sites for red and white Rhône Valley varieties”
“California is awash in interesting wines made from Rhone Valley Varietals, but John Alban is the spiritual and qualitative leader of the movement, turning out sumptuous, majestic, potentially long-lived offerings.”
“…John Alban has always been one of California’s finest viticulturalists. There is no question that the fruit from his vineyards is as fabulous as can be produced in California…” Intro to Alban Vineyards chapter as one of the 23 wineries in the United States recognized as among ‘The world’s greatest’”
“The 2014 Viognier Estate checks in as a new benchmark for me on California (and United States) Viognier.
A perfect wine anyway you look at it, the utterly profound 2012 Pandora…this seamless beauty is easily one of the greatest wines I’ve tasted from California.”
“10 Grand Cru California Winemakers: these winemakers are so great they deserve to be Designated grand cru…John Alban”
“…in all of California, there’s one vintner whose name is practically synonymous with great Rhone wines: John Alban….Seymour’s 2005, which I tasted from barrel, is the greatest California Syrah I’ve ever had.”
“Without him there would never have been the Central Coast ‘Rhone Miracle.’ John Alban [bottles] the essence of Viognier and sheer class.”
“Even among competing winemakers, Alban is the acknowledged Viognier master in California.”