United States · California

Au Bon Climat

Au Bon Climat is a Santa Barbara County winery founded in 1982 by Jim Clendenen in the cool, fog-influenced Santa Maria Valley, where he pioneered Burgundy-variety wines in California's Central Coast before the region's critical recognition. Clendenen trained in Burgundy and modelled his approach—wild yeast fermentation, minimal intervention, older oak—on Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits techniques, producing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay of uncommon restraint for California. The estate bottling Isabelle Pinot Noir averages $58 across 33 lots; Knox Alexander, a single-vineyard selection, averages $62 across 25 lots. La Bauge Au-Dessus averages $52 across 25 lots. The standard Chardonnay at $55 average leads by lot count with 39 entries. Portfolio average of $55 across 189 lots positions ABC as a reliably mid-premium Santa Barbara producer. The price ceiling of $444 reflects older vintages or large formats of the prestige Pinot cuvées. Jim Clendenen's death in May 2021 introduced collector interest in his final vintages, adding modest scarcity premiums to recent lots. The estate's influence on California Pinot Noir's stylistic evolution—from extracted and oak-heavy to Burgundian in inspiration—has been widely acknowledged, and its auction record reflects enduring collector respect for that contribution to the region's winemaking identity.