J Lohr Sauvignon Blanc

Jerry Lohr led the way in Monterey's Arroyo Seco District and was an early advocate of Paso Robles' suitability for the growing of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.  He's been a mainstay in California's Central Coast wine community for decades and his wines seem to get better with every release, still garnering awards and high ratings and still selling like crazy.

I generally find California Sauvignon Blanc to be a little too ripe for my taste, a little too pretty.  This one straddles the fence between a California close-up and an old-world postcard.  There's plenty of tartness, balanced out with acidity and flavor.

This Sauvignon Blanc wine was named for the original concrete water channel that connected two vineyards.  The J Lohr Flume Crossing comes from a cooler 2016 vintage which allowed longer ripening for the grapes yet maintained the acidity needed in this style of wine.  The white wine was aged for five months, 45% in stainless steel, 55% in barrels.  Alcohol hits 13.8% abv and the retail price is $14.

Flume Crossing is an extremely pale wine with strong mineral and citrus notes on the nose, laced with a gentle herbal edge.  The palate shows lemon, peel and all, with a handful of wet rocks minerality.  The acidity is zippy and refreshing and begs for some crustaceans, immediately.


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Arroyo Seco Sauvignon Blanc

In the same way that rosé gets a seasonal shun when the weather turns brisk, wine lovers sometimes forget about Sauvignon Blanc over the fall and winter.  I admit I'm guilty of letting Sauvignon Blanc fall into that "harbinger of spring" category.  It performs extremely well there, but Sauvignon Blanc also has a place at the holiday table, not just the picnic table.  In the coming weeks we'll be covering some nice choices from the Arroyo Seco AVA of California's Monterey County.

The Arroyo Seco AVA is centered around the Arroyo Seco River.  It's described as a seasonal waterway that brings rain and snowmelt from the Santa Lucia Mountains to the Salinas River.  Commercial grape growing started in 1961 and has grown to some 7,000 acres under vine.  The region is about 40 miles away from the deep waters of Monterey Bay and parts of it get direct exposure to the Pacific Ocean through the Salinas Valley. 

Luli 2016 Sauvignon Blanc, Arroyo Seco

Sara Floyd partnered with the Pisoni family to create her line of Luli wines.  The Sauvignon Blanc grapes were grown in Griva Vineyard, a cold, windy, ancient riverbed with soil full of shale.  Winemaker Jeff Pisoni fermented the wine in neutral barrels, not stainless steel, so the mouthfeel is a little weightier than one might expect from a Sauvigon Blanc.  It was selling for about $18, but the winery lists it as "sold out."  That's no surprise.  Alcohol is a middling 14.2% abv.

This wine's nose offers up more of that wonderful grassy aroma than I usually find in California SauvBlancs.  There's a touch of orange peel and lemon zest in there, too.  The mouthfeel is medium full and graced with a zippy acidity.  There is a rich minerality here, as expected, with tropical fruit flavors trying their best to overshadow the stark rocks.  The rocks win.  Lay out an olive and cheese plate if you don't have any shellfish lying about.


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Drink Pink: Meiomi Rosé

Everything’s coming up rosé at Whole Foods Markets, and that's good news for people looking for wines to pair with spring and summer get-togethers. They have a slew of pink wines that are easy on the palate and the pocketbook. Their marketing department offered a sample of a half dozen of their favorites, and I took 'em.

Meiomi Rosé 2016 is from all over California, 48% from Sonoma County, 43% from Monterey County and just nine percent from Santa Barbara County. Winemaker Melissa Stackhouse worked predominantly with Pinot Noir in this inaugural vintage.

The wine is produced in the saignée method, in which the juice is drained away from the skins and fermented in stainless steel tanks.  Alcohol is quiet, at 13.2% abv and the bottle retails for $23.

Light salmon in color, the Meiomi Rosé is so full of strawberry aromas my first inclination is to pick it, not drink it. There is a fresh greenness in there, too, along with a twist of orange peel. On the palate, strawberry leads light notes of cherry and currant. An invigorating acidity begs for a grilled calamari salad, or even oysters. The finish is slightly and deliciously tart, and lasts a long time. It’s a little more expensive than most of the rosés at Whole Foods this spring, but it is worth it.

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More White Wine For The Money: Le Cigare Blanc Réserve

The 2013 Réserve is the same wine as the 2013 Le Cigare Blanc "normale," but it is aged in five-gallon glass demijohns. The aging occurs while the wine is still in contact with the spent yeast cells, which lends weight and texture to the finished product. Winemaker Randall Grahm writes that the wine has a "very different textural aspect from the normale, with an extreme level of umami, or savoriness from the absorption of the lees."

It's still 57% Grenache Blanc, 27% Roussanne and 16% Picpoul from Beeswax Vineyard in Monterey County. It was stirred monthly while aging and was bottled unfiltered. Only 275 cases were made, and it sells for $45.

The wine is a lovely and rich greenish gold, much the same as the "normale," but maybe a little more vibrant. Aromas are predictably savory - beeswax, lanolin, minerals, citrus - and flavors walk that same path. The tropical fruit hits hard, with that Roussanne nuttiness right behind. The earthy, almost soapy, note stays long after the sip while acidity holds a high threshold. You could spend $45 on a Chardonnay very easily, but this wine gives you something much more interesting for your investment.


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Keep An Eagle Eye Peeled For Great $20 Chardonnay

Adler Fels is reportedly German for "Eagle Rock," which plays into their location "high in the Mayacamas Mountains." From there they look across California, spyglass to eye, searching for the great grapes they want to use. Of course, nobody needs a mountaintop watchman to find those locations. Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley, Monterey County, Santa Barbara County - they are hardly off the beaten path. Adler Fels makes what they term, "artisan wines with intense varietal character."

The Adler Fels The Eagle Rock Chardonnay 2015 is made from half Sonoma County grapes, half Monterey County. Winemaker Linda Trotta likes her Chardonnay "luscious and lively." She says she likes to "tease the nuances from the variety" and make wine that stays off the extremes it is known for while exploring the virtues of the variety and the terroir. It’s a $20 wine that tastes much richer. The alcohol level is 14.4% abv.

The wine is a masterful rendition of what Chardonnay can be, what lovers of the variety want it to be and what those who disdain it wish it were. The mouthfeel is full and lovely, with a bountiful acidity considering the lushness. Tropical fruit plays into wonderful citrus peel notes and peaches follow along the trail laid out by the minerals. I admit I feel less adventurous than I want to feel when contemplating a bottle of Chardonnay. This is the kind that makes me glad I pulled the cork.


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Carmel Valley Pinot: Jarman Wines

Jarman Wines are made by the fine folks at Holman Ranch, in California's Carmel Valley. The land has changed hands many times since it was carved out of the "Crown of Spain" as a mission grant. Though many have claimed it through the years, Holman Ranch is now the property of Thomas and Jarman Lowder, who purchased it in 2006. "Recently retired," the website explains, "Thomas and Jarman decided to fulfill a lifelong dream to make estate grown wine and olive oil." So much for the rocking chair.

The label indicates that the wine was hand harvested and hand sorted and that 12 barrels were made. Pinot Noir clone 115 grapes were used, which were organically estate-grown there on the ranch. The juice was aged for ten months in half-new, half-used French oak. Alcohol sits at 14.3% abv and it retails for $75.

The Jarman Pinot Noir 2013 is medium dark in the glass with a rosy brick-colored shade along the edge. Aromas of tart, dark berries and coffee come up immediately. The nose is anything but shy. On the palate, tartness and a coffee note also play large, with a mild acidity and gentle tannic structure. It's a big wine - not as elegant or as subtle as I want a Pinot Noir to be, but in California it seldom is.


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Wine Your Own Beeswax

The wines of Bonny Doon Vineyards are all about complexity. They are all about savory. Sometimes, they’re all about beeswax.

The 2013 Le Cigare Blanc is composed of 57% Grenache Blanc grapes, 27% Roussanne and 16% Picpoul Blanc. Those Rhônish varieties are grown with organic care in the Beeswax Vineyard of Monterey County's Arroyo Seco appellation. Three varieties, a single vineyard.

Bonny Doon chief Randall Grahm says the '13 vintage of the pale analog of his amazing Le Cigare Volant is richer than the "lean, taut '11" but has the hallmark complexity we've come to expect in his wines. It rides in at 14.5% abv and retails for $28. Grahm made 1,757 cases

The wine is a pale, greenish-gold in the glass. It smells, notably, of beeswax - not surprising given that the grapes were grown in the namesake vineyard. A light lanolin creeps over with a bit of yellow melon and a chalk minerality. The nose is elegant, not forceful. On the palate, its savory aspect is apparent, with waxy and nutty flavors presiding over the citrus and minerals. The mouthfeel is full and the acidity is just enough. Year after year, it’s one of the best white wines I taste.

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Carmel Valley Chardonnay

Jarman Wines are made by the fine folks at Holman Ranch, in California's Carmel Valley. The land has changed hands many times since it was carved out of the "Crown of Spain" as a mission grant. Though many have claimed it through the years, Holman Ranch is now the property of Thomas and Jarman Lowder, who purchased it in 2006. "Recently retired," the website explains, "Thomas and Jarman decided to fulfill a lifelong dream to make estate grown wine and olive oil." So much for the retirement rocking chair.

This Carmel Valley wine is Monterey County born and bred, made from two different Chardonnay clones, 95 and 76. It is aged in new French oak barrels for five months, and the touch of wood is just about perfect. The alcohol hits a lofty 14.2% abv. Well, it would be lofty in Burgundy. In California, it's about normal. The organic and certified sustainable grapes are harvested and sorted by hand, and only seven barrels were made. It runs $45 at retail.

The wine is a pretty golden color and smells very much like citrus and earthy minerals with a faint hint of smoke thrown in. It's a titillating nose for a Chardonnay. The palate holds up the promise of the aromas. There is a strong sense of minerals up front, which gives way momentarily to a butterscotch flavor. That flavor in turn hands off to lemon-lime and notes of fresh stream water that has run over sandstone rocks to get to you. The oak make itself known, but in a very polite way. Fresh, zippy acidity feels perfect for a picnic or the Thanksgiving table.


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All Grenache, All The Time

Grenache is a tough grape to figure. A darling of the Rhône Valley, it’s used primarily as a blending grape there, abetted by its likely companions Syrah and Mourvèdre. It is a late-ripening grape, one of the most widely-planted red wine varieties in the world. It likes hot, dry climates best, which is why it is a favorite in Spain, where it is known as Garnacha. Many California climes also lend themselves well to this grape, which is just one reason it is a favorite of mine.

Bonny Doon Vineyards winemaker Randall Grahm calls this 100% Grenache the "misunderstood Ugly Duckling" wine. Grenache gets a bad rap for not being "pretty" enough, not standing well on its own, but this one dispels those notions, although through the glass darkly. At 14.5% abv, it’s hefty, but it balances it's weight very well against the aromas, flavors and mouthfeel. The Monterey County fruit comes from the Rancho Solo vineyard planted years ago, as Grahm explains.

The Bonny Doon Cuvée R Grenache 2014 shows a medium ruby color, has a beautiful, yet feisty nose of cherry, allspice and dark berries with a palate displaying dark fruit and earthy spice and minerals. Good tannic structure meets a refreshing acidity and the whole sip finishes long with black cherry notes persisting.


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Monterey Grenache Blanc, Celadon

Topanga Vineyards sounds more L.A. Than Central coast and, sure enough, the 90 vines planted in the SoCal hideaway of Topanga Canyon started the wine effort of husband and wife team Sandy Garber and Ralph Meyer. Those vines are for wines they use for a home winemaking hobby, though. They source fruit from more agriculturally-suited areas of California for their general release wines.

Their Celadon 2012 Grenache Blanc is made from Arroyo Seco grapes out of Monterey, from the Beeswax Vineyard. It is 100% Grenache Blanc and sells for $25 retail and it was $13 by the glass at Los Angeles restaurant AOC, although they had it listed as Santa Barbara County! Larry Brooks is the winemaker.

This fine Grenache Blanc carries a beautifully funky note from the nose right through the palate. Aromas of salinity, earth and lanolin lead to fennel flavors with limes and minerals thrown in. There is a great acidity which makes it superb for pairing with what we had at AOC: spinach salad with grilled chicken and bacon, lobster and shrimp roll and even the lamb share plate.

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No Foot Stomping For Lucy Rosé

If you are of a certain age, the phrase "Lucy wine" probably makes you think of a red-haired comedienne stomping grapes.  (Insert Lucy's sneer here.)  This Lucy wine is 100% Pinot Noir rosé from Monterey County's Santa Lucia Highlands AVA. It's a blend of grapes from different vineyard sites on the Pisoni estate. The 2014 vintage was dry - bone dry - but you have to expect that in the middle of a drought. The dry weather stressed the vines and made the grapes small and concentrated. The cool climate affords good acidity.

The wine is fermented in 10-year-old oak barrels, completely neutral. Alcohol sits at 14.1% abv, 627 cases were made and it retails for $18. From each bottle of Lucy sold, the Pisoni family donates a buck to the fight against breast cancer. They have raised over $80,000 for research so far.

This pink wine is really more salmon colored - it has a rich and beautiful appearance. The nose is gorgeous, too, with cherry and raspberry flavors wearing an herbal cloak. A bit of orange peel peeks through, too. Flavors of cherries and strawberries are big and ripe, and the acidity shows nicely. It's a great match with a bacon, egg, lettuce and tomato sandwich.


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Monterey Tempranillo: Lee Family Farm

Lee Family Farm is a label created under the parentage of Morgan Winery.  Dan Morgan Lee wanted to be a veterenarian, but wine hijacked his career path.  Lee planted vineyards in Monterey County's Santa Lucia Highlands back in 1996.  Today he uses those grapes for his Morgan and Double L labels.  For his Lee Family Farms bottlings, he sources fruit from other Monterey County growers.

The folks at Morgan Winery quote the Oxford Companion to Wine’s summary of Tempranillo as "Spain’s answer to Cabernet Sauvignon." And it's not a smart-alecky answer either. In fact, I'll take Tempranillo with a steak any old time. This Tempranillo hails not from Spain, but from Ventana Vineyard’s gravelly dirt in the Arroyo Seco subdivision of the cool-climate Monterey AVA. The wine spent 10 months in French oak, about a quarter of it new.  Alcohol is a rich 14.4% abv and the retail price is a tasty 20 bucks.

The nose on the Lee Family Farm Arroyo Seco Tempranillo 2013 is quite savory and rustic. Black fruit is predominant, but some nice cedar notes waft out of the glass as well.  Tobacco, spice and a bit of anise are also around in the aroma package. On the palate, that savory aspect holds strong. The very savory, very rustic black fruit is colored with sage and bramble.

This is a natural to pair with meat right off of a sizzling grill. Thick and juicy meat is what this wine is made for. I like mine a little pink in the middle, if you're cooking today. I can be over in about 20 minutes.

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Bonny Doon Minds Its Own Beeswax

Le Cigare Blanc is the white counterpart to the always awesome Le Cigare Volant red blend, named for the alien spacecraft "banned by decree of the village council of Châteauneuf-du-Pape." The flying cigars may not be allowed to land in France, but they land in my place a lot. They are welcome visitors from another appellation far, far away. Well, just a bit north of me, anyway.

The 2013 Le Cigare Blanc, "Beeswax Vineyard," is a combination of 55% Roussanne grapes, 26% Grenache Blanc and 19% Picpoul grapes from Monterey County's Beeswax Vineyard. Roussanne and Grenache Blanc get around a bit in California, but I'd love to hear of another Cali wine sporting Picpoul.

Bonny Doon Vineyard winemaker Randall Grahm states, "We've made a very slight label change with this vintage. An echo of the mineral character that we were able to express in the wonderful '11, but perhaps a tad richer on the palate." Minerals are good, richer is good. I'm looking forward to sipping. The wine hits 14.5% abv on the alcohol scale and sells for $28 per bottle. 1965 cases were produced, and if there are any left at this time it's an oenological crime.

The '13 Le Cigare Blanc shows in the glass just slightly richer than pale gold. Aromas of quince and peach are smacked with a delightful salinity - not quite the smell of salt water, but pretty close to it. There's a note of candle wax in there, too. The palate is exquisite, with lovely white fruit flavors and a decent acidity which is tempered by the wine's mellow mouthfeel. Traces of a floral sense melt into a slightly saline feel on the finish.

It fits so well with a pasta salad featuring mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes and capers that it seems incredible to think that the wine wasn't made with that dish in mind.

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California Grenache: Bonny Doon Cuvée R 2012

"There is a place in our hearts for Grenache at Bonny Doon Vineyard," states the winery's new website.  "It is the misunderstood, Ugly Duckling cépage par excellence."   The Now And Zin California Grenache series threw the spotlight on this misjudged, maligned and magnificent grape.

The grapes for the Bonny Doon Grenache Cuvée R 2012 were grown in the Rancho Solo Vineyard, formerly the Ca' del Solo Vineyard in Monterey County town of Soledad.  Winemaker Randall Grahm says he has planted it at the new vineyard in San Juan Bautista. "It looks promising."  Grahm says, "This was the most impressive single batch of Grenache fruit I have ever chanced to encounter chez Doon."  And he has encountered quite a few.

If you want to get downright geeky about the grapes, Grahm reveals that the fruit for this wine was grown "from a selected clone of Grenache alleged to have originated from an extremely well-regarded, let’s rephrase that, from the most well-regarded domain in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, one known for making 100% Grenache cuvées of atypical elegance."

It retails for $48, but is only available to Bonny Doon’s DEWN Club members.   Cuvée R rocks a 14.9% abv number, so it’s a rather potent quaff.  The label art cartoon by Gary Taxali is worth at least a portion of the price.

The Cuvée R Grenache is extremely dark, with no light getting through the glass.  Upon opening, the nose was rather tight, a situation that resolves itself over time.  One sip makes it clear this is a very tasty, dark and delicious wine, but it’s not a big ol' California fruit stand.  This Grenache is dark, like the forest.  A nice level of acidity is refreshing in the mouth - but not the sort that takes your breath away - and the tannins are firm, provide a lively mate for meat.  Actually, the tannins seem to increase over the three nights I had this bottle open - quite the reverse of what I would have expected.  On the first night, the wine seemed a little dull, blunted.  On the second night it was a much livelier experience and by the third night it was brighter still.

The wine is full in the mouth and smooth as a bonus.  Not a bad choice for the holiday table.


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Sweet Wine From Bonny Doon Vineyard

Sweet wine is not just for the holidays, although many people feel that way.  These may be the same folks who only drink Champagne on New Year's Eve.  Sure, a nice dessert wine with pumpkin pie is great.  A sip or two while unwrapping presents on Christmas morning helps us give a picture-worthy smile even for the gifts we know we'll be returning on Boxing Day.   But does it pair with turkey?  Can we drink it all year long?  Yes, if we can afford to.

At $24 per 375 ml bottle, it's actually a pretty good deal for dessert wine.  Still, if you are serving a group of people it can get pricey to give everyone a good pour.  And everyone wants a good pour of dessert wine.

Bonny Doon's Vinferno 2013 is light on the alcohol - 11.2% abv - and heavy on the residual sugar - 14.6%.  The Grenache Blanc grapes are harvested from the Beeswax Vineyard in Arroyo Seco which has been put to such great use by winemaker Randall Grahm in other wines.  And props to Mr. Grahm, while we're at it, for producing a single-vineyard sweet wine.  Vinification took place in stainless steel tanks.

The grapes are air-dried, by the way.   Grahm waited for botrytis to set in - the mold that makes dessert wine sweet - but it never came to the vineyard in 2013.  So Vinferno turned out to be a late-harvest wine, in which the grapes dried on the vine.  It would have made for better marketing copy had the grapes been laid out for three months on top of a carport housing a Citroen, but it was not to be.  Hang time did the trick.

Vinferno is a sweet wine, to be sure, but there is plenty more going on, which lifts it from "dessert wine" status to the level of a great table wine.  First of all, there is a savory aspect to both the nose and palate that keeps it from cloying.  Second, the acidity is bracing, and it's especially noticeable when served unchilled.  It's definitely food-friendly.  Third, the flavors probably go best with fruit or a soft, creamy cheese, but they work well with lightly herbed meats, too.  Even bratwurst.  Salty peanuts.  At this point, you'll need another bottle.

This wine has color to burn.  It's a beautiful, whiskey-tinted amber that is quite enticing.  Aromas of pear, apple, apricot, pineapple and honey have a savory blanket of earth over them.   Fruit flavors come across sweetly, with a complex savory story of their own to tell, too.  The herbal notes are huge, and welcome anytime.  But I want this on Christmas morning.


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California Grenache: Bonny Doon Clos De Gilroy

In a recent article about California Grenache, Jon Bonné called Grenache "the Jan Brady of grapes."  He wrote that Grenache, when left to its own devices, is sometimes responsible for wines that are just not pretty enough.  He did offer, of course, that there are some great examples of California Grenache wines that are plenty pretty on their own.  Complex, even

Grenache seems well-suited to California, particularly in cooler vintages.  Sporting plenty of what the wine-buying public likes - fruit, tannins, acidity - and often available at great price points, Grenache would seem to be poised to make some noise.

Today in the California Grenache series, we sample the Bonny Doon Vineyard Clos De Gilroy Monterey County Grenache 2013.

Bonny Doon "President for Life" Randall Grahm’s scent of humor comes to the forefront on the labeling of this wine - see below.  Gilroy is the garlic capital of California - a town that truly does telegraph its whereabouts to travelers on the nearby freeway.  Think what you will, but the town is amazingly vampire-free.  

After laying on a few aioli-related puns, Grahm gets to the business end of the wine.  Made up of 75% Grenache, 17% Syrah and 8% Mourvèdre, Clos De Gilroy's grapes hail "from the Alta Loma vineyard in Greenfield (a particularly cool site for grenache) the gravelly Alamo Creek Vineyard near Santa Maria and some truly ancient mourvèdre vines in the sleepy Sacramento Delta town of Oakley, CA. "

These grapes - together with Grahm, although he claims minimal intervention - produce a wine with an absolutely brilliant nose.  Aromas of cherry and plum are dusted with a leathery layer of anise and tobacco.  The palate is big and dark, with multiple shadings of the fruits involved.  The cherry of Grenache leads the way, followed by the dark fruit and spice of the Syrah with Mourvèdre's savory notes and tannins.  There is a brooding funkiness to this wine that I find riveting.  I think it is a little too masculine to be comfortable when called "pretty," but it definitely wears its complexity well.  

And, it was another vampire-free night at chez Now And Zin.

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California Grenache: Lee Family Farm Grenache 2011 Monterey

As California winemakers accept that Syrah was not the Next Big Thing, they are looking for another contender.  Why not Grenache?

The Grenache grape is thought to have originated in Spain - as Garnacha - before running off to France - that's where it picked up the name Grenache - and Sardinia, where it goes under the name Cannonau.  It was one of the first varieties brought to Australia, where it did not feel the need to assume a nom de vin.  It was only natural the grape would come to California for a long vacation and decide to stay for awhile.

The buds break early on Grenache vines, and they take their sweet time about getting ripe.  Often one of the last grapes out of the vineyard, Grenache fruit tends to make a high-octane wine, which is why it has a habit of taking on a support staff.  Syrah and Mourvèdre finish off the Rhône trio of GSM.

Grenache grapes seem well-suited to California, particularly in the cooler vintages.  Sporting plenty of what the wine-buying public likes - fruit, tannins, acidity - and often available at great price points, Grenache would seem to be poised to become that Next Big Thing in California wine.

Over the course of the next few weeks, I’ll sample some California Grenache from different parts of the state.  I hope you will check out the wines with me.  Most of the wines in the series will be varietal wines, all or mostly Grenache.  Today's entry - Lee Family Farm Grenache 2011 - comes from Morgan Winery in Monterey.

Morgan Winery claims their Monterey home is among the most perfect places for Grenache grapes to grow, even pointing out the boldness of that assertion.  "Grenache is the world’s most widely planted red grape," they say on their website, "and is responsible for some of the finest wines, from France’s southern Rhone Valley to the Priorat in Spain.  Monterey is now on the list for producing great Grenache."

Lee Family Farms is a label created under the parentage of Morgan Winery.  Dan Morgan Lee planted vineyards in Moterey County's Santa Lucia Highlands back in 1996.  Today he uses those grapes for his Morgan and Double L labels.  For his Lee Family Farms bottlings, he sources fruit from other quality growers.

The grapes for the Lee Family Farm Grenache comes from three different Monterey County vineyards - Wildhorse, Cedar Lane and Ventana.  All three benefit from the cooling marine influence of Monterey Bay.  The breeze and fog help lengthen the growing season so the grapes are picked as ripe as possible.

2011 was a cool vintage, and it shows in the acidity.  The cooler the growing season, the better the acidity.  The wine spent ten months in a French oak - 20% of which was new.  Alcohol clicks 14.3% on the scale and a bottle sells for $24.

Showing a medium garnet hue in the glass, a sniff of this wine at rest gives a faint smokiness, almost like a very light incense.  Swirl it a few times and the fruit wakes up - big, bright cherry and strawberry aromas blast from the glass like you scared them.  A note of lilacs in bloom follows.  The flavors are just as bold as the aromas.  Cherries and raspberries steal the show on the palate, but a very nice vanilla component plays in and makes a bit of a Creamsicle impression.  The acidity is fresh and delightful, while the tannins make a good effort, too.

Pairing the 2011 Lee Family Farm Grenache with chicken or sausage is a brilliant idea.  Even if the meat is a little lackluster, the wine's generous gifts will dress it up.  The finish isn't terribly long, but it is cherry-laden and dusted with anise and nutmeg.  It leaves you wanting more.


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Clos de Gilroy 2012 Central Coast Grenache

Randall Grahm is known more for his Rhône varietal wines - he is, ya know, the original Rhône Ranger - but he does a great job with any grape he chooses to crush.  He shows his minimal-intervention winemaking skills here with The Wine Formerly Known as Clos de Gilroy - TWFKaCdG.  It's still actually still known as Clos de Gilroy, since the lettering on the label for the other part is in small, scripted font and rather hard to read.  

Clos de Gilroy offers a tip of the winemaker hat to the town of Gilroy, CA, known more for its smells than its sights.  Gilroy is the scene of the annual garlic festival, owing to its prodigious garlic crop.  They also grow a lot of mushrooms there, but you wouldn't know it from the smell.  It is not, however, the source of the grapes - hence the TWFKaCdG tag.  Clos de Greenfield simply didn’t have the requisite ring to it.

On the label, Clos de Gilroy is denoted with the inscription, "Le Gil des Rois, Le Roi des Gils."  My high school French tells me that means "the Gil of kings, the king of Gils," but I cannot stand behind that translation.  I was a C-student in foreign languages.

Gilroy is here.

The wine is made from 84% Grenache grapes - from the biodynamically-farmed Alta Loma Vineyard in the Arroyo Seco AVA in Monterey County - along with 11.5% Santa Maria Valley Syrah and 4.5% old-vine Mourvèdre grapes from the Sacramento Delta.

Grahm says the 2012 Grenache crop was surprising for its quality and quantity.  He intended these grapes for his Le Cigare Volant wine, but they ended up here instead. 

This fresh red sees no wood at all, 1,444 cases were produced, and it sells at retail for $18.  Alcohol ticks the abv meter at 14.4% and the wine comes bottled under a screw cap.

Grahm's label notes say that the "Grenache's exceptionally lovely strawberry-rhubarbarity is complemented by delicate notes of raspberry, kirsch, red currant and white pepper."  He recommends pairing with anything garlicky. 

The Gil - pardon my familiarity - is a fresh tasting wine with lovely red fruit oozing from its little red molecules.  The bouquet comes on a little tart - must be the "rhubarbarity" - but carries strawberry, cherry and a nice herbal note with it.  Great acidity and a cherry flavor on the palate set the table for a wonderful and long finish. 

The Clos de Gilroy takes a chill well, if you need it to.  In fact, after some time open and a little cooling, it takes on a grapey atmosphere and reminds me quite a bit of a Beaujolais or even a Lambrusco.  If there's still a balmy evening remaining where you are, keep that in mind.

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Bonny Doon Wine With The Grapes Of Italy And Spain

Winemaking is a tough enough profession, but a winemaker who can make world-class puns at the drop of a hat while doing the Sunday New York Times crossword and microblogging on Twitter is a man to be admired.

Besides the Rhône-varietal wines Randall Grahm is known for, he also likes to dabble in some other grape nationalities, too.  He has done some interesting things with Riesling, and the two wines featured here show his work with Spanish and Italian grape varieties grown in the Bonny Doon Ca’ del Solo estate vineyard.  They were provided to me for review.


Bonny Doon Nebbiolo 2009

Grahm’s love affair with the grape of Barolo has either come to an end or reached a hiatus, as far as growing it is concerned.  The ‘09 vintage of Bonny Doon Nebbiolo is the last from the biodynamic Ca’ del Solo Vineyard in Monterey - at least for a while.

Grahm thinks Nebbiolo is “one of the true genius grape varieties."  He says, "there is a remarkable soulfulness to the best examples of the variety, and this particular one, I submit, stands among the very best.”

In previous vintages, Grahm's Nebbiolo grapes were partially air-dried to concentrate ripeness. He says the finale year for the vineyard provided a warmer growing season, so air-drying was not employed.  All the grapes used here are estate-grown Nebbiolo.  Alcohol kicks in at 14.4% abv, and only 508 cases were made, for Bonny Doon’s DEWN wine club members.  Sealed under a screwcap, it goes for $45.

The wine has a medium-dark tint in the glass and smells quite brightly of red plums and blueberries.  The fairly noticeable whiff of a fresh pack of Kools - my dad’s brand when I was growing up - provides an interesting angle to the bouquet.  On the palate, a youthful fruit expression is up front when first poured.  Then, over the course of an evening, its mood turns darker and a bit more savory.  With so much going on, it’s a great wine to contemplate.  It’s also a great wine to accompany a meal.  The tannins are firm enough for your grandma’s meatballs, but not at all harsh.

Bonny Doon Sparkling Albariño, Central Coast 2010

This 100% Albariño sparkler uses grapes from Jespersen Vineyard (84%) and Ca’ del Solo (16%.)  It comes under a crown cap closure, requiring a churchkey like a beer or soda might.  You should remove the cap very slowly, since the contents are under pressure and the bubbles like to free themselves quickly when they have the chance.  Alcohol content is quite low - 12.5% abv - and only 617 cases were produced.  It’s also available only to Bonny Doon’s wine club members.

Those bubbles - when they are freed - are quite large on top of the pale golden liquid.  The nose smells a bit of toast, but more of fruit.  A zesty lemon-lime component frames the aroma of peaches quite nicely.  The refreshing acidity is a delight, and flavors of citrus linger on the finish.  Grahm suggests you try this with Korean barbecue, and that’s a great idea.  It should also make a nice pairing with any number of other dishes, or sipped on its own as a toasting vehicle.  $32


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Clos La Chance Wines

The life of a wine writer looks pretty good - from a distance.  It's nice that I get to attend many fine wine tasting events, and nicer still that most of the wines I taste are pretty good.  It is tough, though, to make value judgments on wines at these events when I  have all of thirty seconds or so to see, swirl, sniff, sip and spit while trying to jot down something that sounds different than what I jotted down at the last table.

Clos LaChance is one of those wines I have experienced only at tasting events under those less-than-desirable circumstances - until I received samples of their wines from a publicist.  While he didn't introduce me to the Clos LaChance wines, he did give me an opportunity to write about the winery at greater length than I have in the past.

Bill and Brenda Murphy own and operate the 150-acre San Martin estate, which is sustainably certified by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance.  The production facility is sustainable, as well.  The Murphys take seriously the honor of being "stewards of the land," but they also see their efforts producing a legacy for generations of Murphys to come.

Head winemaker Stephen Tebb and his staff have done a wonderful job, and I'm happy I had the chance to taste the wines from Clos LaChance.

What's in a name?  LaChance is Brenda Murphy's maiden name.  And the hummingbird on the label?  The winery is located at 1 Hummingbird Lane.


Clos LaChance Cabernet Sauvignon Central Coast 2009

This wine provides an interesting blend from the Central Coast: 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Malbec, 2% Merlot.  Nearly all the grapes are from the Clos La Chance estate vineyards - five percent come from CK Vines, an arm of Clos LaChance.

This is a Cabernet with a - pardon my rudeness - a big old' honker on it.  This nose overwhelms the sniffer with fruit aromas that are not a bit shy.  Ripe blackberry, plums and black cherry would be a treat by themselves.  Here, they get lots of help from the spice rack.  Clove, cinnamon, sage and nutmeg converge in a heady cedar box of smells.  It's a party for the olfactory sense, probably abetted by the Malbec.  The extra-spicy profile could also be due in part to the use of American oak in the aging program.  20 percent of the oak used is American, and five percent of it is new.  Of the French oak, 30 percent of it is new.  The wine spends 16 months aging in oak barrels.

In the mouth, blackberry and black cherry cola lead the way, while clove and a just a hint of orange peel linger on the finish.  The firm tannins provide ample framework for meat, but are not too stiff - the wine is a very pleasant solo quaff.  Alcohol is a manageable 13.5% abv and suggested retail is $15.

Clos La Chance Estate Zinfandel Central Coast 2010

This Zin is a fairly dark purple in the glass and has a rustic, brambly side showing on the nose.  Aromas of cherry and raspberry come forth with hints of sage and eucalyptus following.  The flavor profile leans heavily on fruit like blackberry and raspberry, plus a jazzy little kick of clove and elderberry.

The wine’s alcohol content is 14.5% abv, but it drinks smoother than that.  Look for this one to be a hit by the barbecue grill with steaks, sausages or pork chops.  The suggested retail price of this Zinfandel is $15.

Clos La Chance Chardonnay Monterey County 2011

An unoaked Chardonnay, this one really lets the grapes do the talking.  The nose is alive with tropical aromas - pineapple and a hint of banana.  The fruit steals the show on the palate, too.  Gentle grapefruit flavors join the pineapple with a burst of lemon to boot.  The finish is long, and it’s the grapefruit flavor that hangs around the longest.

The wine’s acidity is quite refreshing and the 13.5% abv number is moderate and mild.  Food pairing is a natural.  I think it will complement shellfish wonderfully.  At a retail price of $11, this Chardonnay is a great bargain, too.


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