Local Vintners Are Producing Wines of Outstanding Merit

The outside may be noisy and sooty, but inside Inglewood’s three wineries there’s an elegant fragrance reminiscent of the more hallowed halls of Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino counties.

Similarly, although one might expect their products to revolve around lesser and inexpensive proprietary wines, these Inglewood wineries actually are producing premium, award-winning varietals of outstanding merit.

Cecil and Marcy McLester, Hank and Judy Donatoni, and Herb and Pat Harris clearly are not hobby wine makers pushing products into commercial status. A recent evaluation of a half-dozen samples from their wineries proved the worth and stature of these remarkable wines made from grapes primarily from Santa Barbara, Amador and San Luis Obispo counties.

PALOS VERDES WINERY, 10620-D S. La Cienega Blvd.

1985 San Luis Obispo County Fume Blanc, French Camp Vineyards: $7.50. Pale, straw-colored wine of brilliant finish, clean bouquet, with a long, silky finesse of body. No grassiness. An exceptionally fine Sauvignon Blanc, a hint of oak.

1985 San Luis Obispo County Chardonnay, MacGregor Vineyards: $10.95. Classical richness of breed in bouquet, leading to a fine golden wine of soft, buttery taste. Barrel fermented in French oak.

DONATONI WINERY, 10604 S. La Cienega Blvd.

1983 Paso Robles Chardonnay: $9.50. The golden wine from this green French bottle at once asserts its soft and lovely character. Obviously made from fully ripe, luscious berries, there is a hint of ripe peaches here. A lower total acidity will be pleasing to many.

1981 Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon, Vineyard Nepenthe: $9. It’s already 5 years old, but the tannin structure suggests a couple more years are needed to bring the wine to its peak. Muscular, full-bodied.

McLESTER WINERY, 10670-D S. La Cienega Blvd.

1984 San Luis Obispo County Fume Blanc, Vineyard Nepenthe: $8. Marcy McLester, who writes the winery’s newsletter, can use superlatives on this wine. It’s long, palate-caressing and suggestive of dried apricots in its clean aftertaste. Flawless finesse.

1983 Amador County Zinfandel, Baldinelli Vineyard: $6.50. This is a big wine (13.8% alcohol) with an almost spicy nose. The tannin body suggests it’s a year or so away from full maturity, but already a graceful red wine with minimal rough edges.