Decade Diving at Fess Parker Winery

Remodeled Santa Ynez Valley Tasting Room Features Library Flights in Contemporary Setting

BOTTLE BONANZA: A recent tour through the Fess Parker Winery library featured numerous syrahs, pinot noirs, and chardonnays from the 2001 vintage through 2012. | Credit: Matt Kettmann

Amid alluring aromas of smoked meat, stewed berry, and peppery soy sauce, there’s a strong scent of validation coming out of the glass of a 2001 Rodney’s Vineyard syrah, the most enduring of the wines offered during my recent visit to the brand new library tasting rooms at Fess Parker Winery.

“The ’01 really has become my favorite while opening these rooms, and it’s the oldest we have in here,” said the winery’s president Tim Snider, the son-in-law of the late actor, who founded this property in 1989. “I’ve got to stop opening them, because there are not that many.”

PULLING STRINGS: Winemaker Blair Fox (seen in the reflection) checks out the guitar that Fess Parker played to get his famous role as Davy Crockett. | Credit: Matt Kettmann

Whether the ’01 was the very best of our flight depends on the palate of the beholder, of course, and the options for Snider, winemaker Blair Fox, and me were quite competitive: 2010 Bien Nacido and 2012 Ashley’s chardonnays, both still loaded with acidity while picking up that slight nutty tone that comes with age; 2005 Pommard clone, 2007 Bien Nacido, and 2010 Ashley’s pinot noirs, all still with structure intact, the latter barely showing any years at all; and that ’01 Rodney’s as well as the 2007, 2008, and a 2010 Big Easy, which incorporates petite sirah and grenache in the mix.