Our wine education continued recently at the San Francisco Weekend Celebration of American Rhone Wines. This two-day event was sponsored by The Rhone Rangers, “a non-profit educational organization, dedicated to promoting the enjoyment of Rhone varietal wines produced in the United States”.
The Rhone Rangers came about informally in the 1980s as a result of the desire of a group of winemakers to make varietals other than Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Successful experimentation with varieties from the Rhone River Valley in France (think Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre) encouraged the group to band together to share information and bring others into the fold. In 1997 The Rhone Rangers was established as an official organization by 13 winery members. Membership now includes nearly 200 wineries from California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Michigan and Virginia.
As noted above, the Rhone Rangers took their inspiration from the wines of the Rhone River Valley, in southern France. The wine region begins at Lyon in the north and continues south to the Mediterranean, some 150 miles. The terrain and soil are varied. The climate in the northern Rhone is cooler with harsh winters and warm summers. In the southern Rhone winters are less harsh and the summers very warm.
Over 20 grape varieties may be used to produce wine in the Rhone Valley. Fewer in the northern Rhone (only Syrah, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier) and some appellations within the Rhone allow only one variety. The combination of climate, soil, grape varieties, and always the river, combine to produce unique wines.
We tasted four pairings of wines in this seminar. “Old World Inspiration” was represented in each pair by the wines of E. Guigal, which were presented by Patrick Will, Vice President, Brand Management & Development of Vintus. E. Guigal is a quality producer known for extended aging of their wines prior to release of their northern and southern Rhone wines. They produce and age wine from their northern Rhone vineyards at Chateau d’Ampuis, which was purchased by the family in 1995. Wines from the southern Rhone are aged there as well.
“New World Innovation” was represented by four winemakers each presenting their wines for us to compare with the E. Guigal wine. Here are the pairings.
2011 Guigal Condrieu $65. Viognier, which is thought to have originated in Condrieu or Ampuis in the northern Rhone, thrives in the decomposed granite soils and steeply terraced vineyards of the area. Fermentation took place one-third in new oak barrels and two-thirds in stainless steel. This 100% Viognier was clean and crisp with a mineral flintiness. Floral notes were present in the nose and flavors.
2011 Ranchero Cellars La Vista Vineyard Viognier $30. Winemaker Amy Butler demonstrated great fondness for the La Vista Vineyards. Located in western Paso Robles, the soil in this area is calcareous shale and the south-facing slopes are very warm. This single-block wine was partially fermented in concrete, and partially in barrels (50% new oak). Fermentation with “feral” yeast was cool with 100% malolactic fermentation. No stirring occurred until bottling. This wine was creamy, with citrus flavors and floral notes. The finish was clean with great acidity. The roundness of this wine contrasted with the lighter weight in the mouth of the Condrieu. Great to be able to taste two styles with the same variety.
2011 Guigal Tavel Rosé $22. Tavel, located in the southern Rhone, is all about rosé. Literally. It is the only AOC that produces nothing but rosé. This rosé is produced using saignée, that is bleeding off juice after a short period of contact with the grape skins. This blend of 50% Grenache, 30% Cinsault, 10% Clairette, 5% Syrah and 5% other varieties underwent 100% malolactic fermentation with aging in stainless steel. Light salmon-colored in the glass, flavors are an elegant combination of berries and honey with spice notes. There was great depth of flavor with good acidity.
2012 Margerum Wine Company “Riviera Rosé” of Grenache $18. Doug Margerum’s wine is produced using a combination of saignée and gently pressed Grenache. It does not undergo malolactic fermentation and aging is in stainless steel. The blush color in the glass is very delicate. Scents of berries and fruit I associate with Grenache waft from the glass and follow with similar flavors. The finish is clean and slightly sweet, though there is no residual sugar according to testing. This wine will be a great summer sipper.
2007 Guigal Châteauneuf du Pape $50. Chateauneuf du Pape, located in the center of the southern Rhone region, is the largest AOC. Soil here is rocky, overlying clay and limestone. Grenache is the variety of note. The vineyards producing this wine are 45 years old, and it is a blend of 80% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 5% Mourvédre and 5% other. Vinification is in the “traditional style” with stems used in fermentation, followed by long aging. These wines need time to develop. 2007 is the current release. Chewy flavors of mature dark fruit, spice and tobacco combine with significant tannins to produce a complex wine with long finish. This wine fills your mouth with flavors and tannins.
2008 Bonny Doon Vineyard “Le Cigare Volante Reserve” 25th Anniversary Release $65. This is where the innovation really begins. “Reduction Elevage” is the term Randall Grahm used to describe the process of concentrating the flavors in this wine after fermentation. It involves the addition of lees, teflon stir bars and agitation. The blend is 45% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 13% Mourvédre, 7% Cinsault, 5% Carignane. Lots of dark fruit and spice on the nose with rich, ripe, dark fruit flavors, smoke, spice and significant tannins. This wine tastes great now, and should age nicely.
2009 Guigal Côte Rôtie Château d’Ampuis $185. We now move back to the northern Rhone where Syrah as the focus. This wine has 7% Viognier blended in with the Syrah to add perfume and floral notes, as is the practice in Côte Rôtie. The average age of the vines in the three or more designated vineyards is 50 years. This wine is produced in the classic style with no fining or filtration. Aging is 38 months in new barrels. Rich dark fruit and smoke scents are immediately evident in the glass. Concentrated, dark fruit flavors combine with significant but well-integrated tannins to produce a mouthful of flavor and texture. I expect this wine to become even more complex with time.
2008 Silver Wines Syrah Trentotto File White Hawk Vineyard $28. This small vineyard, just 38 rows (hence Trentotto in the name of the wine), is located on a south facing slope of Cat Canyon in Los Alamos Valley located in Santa Barbara County. Winemaker, Benjamin Silver, explained Syrah Clones 470 and 174 were grafted over Chardonnay in 2002. The soil, sand dunes, causes the vines to work very hard to produce fruit. This very dark ruby wine had primarily blueberry scents in the glass with a bit of smoke coming out over time. Dark berry flavors with a bit of sweetness followed by smooth well-integrated tannins. The finish was so long, with concentrated fruit and tannins. These complex ripe flavors come with only 13.4% ABV. A great food wine.
It was so interesting to hear every winemaker talk about his or her wine. Their passion for the land, the vines and the winemaking process was evident from all of them. The amount of detail they provided for each of their wines was amazing. Nobody spoke from notes. They all just know all of these details. It gave me a renewed appreciation for the complexity involved in making wine. Every wine was unique and all are very well made. In every case “The New World Innovation” wines compared favorably to the French version, and in most cases were considerably less expensive. With the great variety of climate, soil and winemaking styles, we have a lot to choose from. I will remember to consider Santa Barbara, Paso Robles and the Central Coast for Viognier and GSMs (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre).
Viognier from Condrieu, Grenache blend from Tavel and Châteauneuf du Pape, and finally Syrah from Côte Rôtie. And all from one producer. This was a great survey of Rhone wines. This tasting was the best of both worlds.
We attended a second seminar entitled Mourvèdre: A Rising Star in the World of American Rhones. Look for our notes from this tasting in a few days.
Cheers!
