Can CA Rhones Taste French?
Hospice du Rhone shows vivid contrasts in Syrah, etc.

By Jim Gordon

Paso Robles, California -- At the annual love fest for Rhone varietals, the Hospice du Rhone, you couldn’t help comparing California Rhone-style wines to the originals from France. At least I couldn’t. Making the comparison helped me build my list of “10 Most Intriguing Wines” that follows below.

Last weekend’s festival brought in stellar wines and winemakers from France, Australia, Spain, and South Africa, in addition to Arizona, Washington, and most parts of California. So the decades-long debate about how California wines compare to the world’s -- and whose are better -- had plenty of food for thought. The theme this year was, “So Many Rhones, So Little Time.”

One of the four intensive sit-down seminars over two days featured three progressive winemakers from the Rhone Valley itself, traditional home of the Syrah and Viognier varieties among 20 others. To enjoy Condrieu (Viognier), Crozes Hermitage (Syrah), and Cote Rotie (Syrah) while listening to the celebrated winemakers discuss them in the morning, and return in the afternoon to a big walk-around tasting where hundreds of other examples abounded was an example of the palate-expanding opportunities available for the consumers, restaurateurs, and wine trade people who attended.

High-end French reds more similar to Californian

I was quickly reminded that French Rhones at the high end taste more similar to the wines of California’s Rhone -style winemakers  than do the lower-end wines. The Domaine Combier Crozes Hermitage 2004 brought by owner Laurent Combier for a sit-down tasting entitled “The Trio Infernal” had an out-and-out peppery, herbal aroma, lean fruit flavors and a smoky finish. Very few California wines have this profile. When we stepped up to the cru wine from Combier, designated Crozes Hermitage Clos de Grives, I tasted much riper, richer aromas and flavors, giving an almost sweet appeal – like wines from where? -- but still found an elegance and sophistication in texture and complexity, without too much body.

( Above, wine consultant Bonnie Graves was one of many volunteers who helped produce the annual tasting extravaganza in Paso Robles. Photos by Mel Hill.)

Another member of the trio, Jean-Michel Gerin, poured his Cote Rotie Champin de Seigneur 2004, also made from Syrah. It was probably my favorite wine out of more than a hundred tasted over four days in Paso Robles. Its combination of fennel and smoke aromas, focused fruit flavors and lingering finish was wonderful.

The third member of the trio, Peter Fischer of Provence, put into words what I liked most about certain wines at the festival: “If there’s one thing a wine should be, it must be unique and it must not taste like any other wine.” This came while tasting his white wine, Le Grand Blanc de Revellete 2004, which was light, exotic, with floral and apricot tones yet turned out to be a Chardonnay. (He claimed he didn’t realize until it was too late that Chardonnay and Cabernet were banned from the event.)

How many CA Rhones are unique?

So, how many California wines at Hospice du Rhone had the same individuality and interest? A good number. The Araujo Estate Syrah Napa Valley 2002 had enticing pepper and earth, bitter chocolate and blackberry, and was all smooth and warm in texture. Araujo winemaker Francoise Peschon, in a tasting led by three women winemakers, told the story behind what she said “equates to the red-headed, freckle-faced sister” in a family of brunettes, “the wine from Mars” that grew accidentally at the Eisele vineyard owned by Araujo near Calistoga.

Vineyard founders Milt and Barbara Eisele planted some Syrah in their mostly Cabernet vineyard in 1978. In 1986 they grafted those vines over to Bordeaux varieties. Years later after Bart and Daphne Araujo bought the property consulting winemaker Tony Soter discovered that some of the supposed Cabernet vines looked wrong. He determined that the grafts hadn’t “taken” on about 100 vines, and the grapes they produced were still Syrah. So the estate began making a small amount of Syrah. Peschon now says it is the variety about which she is most passionate.

Some wines, like Dennis Fife’s peppery, earthy L’Attitude 39 2003 made with Carignane and other varieties in Mendocino, and Gary Eberle’s luscious but nervy Viognier, could pass for real Rhones. What emerged as perhaps most compelling were the California wines that showed their flavor kinship with the Old World but had a Californian vitality of their own. Ripe but sophisticated Syrahs from Santa Barbara County including Paul Lato’s Syrah Bien Nacido Vineyard Quo Vadis 2003 and Melville Syrah Santa Rita Hills Donna’s Estate 2004 were just two of many that fit this mold.

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10 Most Intriguing Wines I Tasted at Hospice du Rhone

These 10 wines tasted in and around the festival were intriguing for various reasons, including how French they tasted, how good a value they were, how well they had aged, etc. I used score ranges because I did not taste the wines blind.

Syrah

Araujo Estate Syrah Napa Valley 2004 (91-93, $160)
A deliciously reserved Syrah that’s deeply colored, peppery and earthy in aroma, stuffed with flavors of semi-sweet chocolate and blackberry and wrapped in a moderate oak spiciness. All in balance, with no elbows or knees sticking out.

Cycles-Gladiator Syrah Central Coast 2004 (88-90, $10)
A great value in Syrah, brought to you by the folks who created Rex Goliath. It has a luscious mouth feel, ripe blackberry, licorice and sweet oak flavors that are buoyed by just enough tannin and acidity.
 
J.M. Gerin Cote Rotie Champin de Seigneur 2004 (93-95, $60)
OK, it’s not from California, but this Rhone Valley red is a great example of the standard that many CA winemakers are holding themselves to when they make Syrah in a Northern Rhone style. It’s firm, tannic, tightly textured, not huge, but medium-bodied in a classic Old World profile. The magic is in the wonderfully unique aromas and flavors of fennel, anise, smoke and pepper, all riding on a flood of berries.

Paul Lato Syrah Santa Maria Valley Bien Nacido Vineyard Quo Vadis 2003 (92-94, $42)
A dark, rich, softly tannic Syrah with expressive Santa Barbara County fruit flavors and yet an Old World personality that comes out in the peppery, smoky aromas and spiced flavors.

Melville Syrah Santa Rita Hills Donna’s Estate 2004 (91-93, $40)
A spicy, distinctive character shows through the full-bodied frame of this cool-climate Syrah from Santa Barbara County. It’s not over-the-top powerful, but has lots of expressive fruit flavor, with black pepper and licorice nuances.

Other Rhone-Style Reds

Beckmen Grenache Santa Ynez Valley 1996 (90-92, $NA)
Further proof that you can’t always judge a wine by its appearance. This was a sad-looking, brown-rimmed, pale-in-the-middle, 10-year-old wine. But it tasted much, much better than it looked. A wonderfully sweet fruit aroma that’s characteristic of Grenache led to cherry and raspberry flavors that were broad, rich and persistent.

Fife Mendocino L’Attitude 39 2001 (89-91, $19)
This is for the skeptics who say California wines are simply jam juice, that they don’t have the balance and intrigue of their European counterparts. Made from Carignane, Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre and Cinsault, this affordable blend could pass as a Crozes-Hermitage or Chateaueuf-du-Pape. A peppery, smoky aroma, medium-full bodied, concentrated but not overripe, with a nice tannic texture.

J. Lohr Paso Robles Tower Road 2003 (90-92, $25)
Shows how much fun tannin can be. Though extremely dark in color, potent with tannins and relatively full-bodied, it still comes off as sleek, juicy and enjoyable to drink. Lots of blackberry, cherry and blueberry flavor comes through. 60 percent Petite Sirah, 20 percent Syrah and 10 percent Petite Verdot with other varieties.

Rhone-Style Whites

Eberle Viognier Paso Robles Mill Road 2001 (91-93, $20)
Tasted as a library wine four years after its first release, it was fascinating and delicious. It’s a dry white wine, but Viognier can age extremely well as this example shows. It’s rich in texture, lively in acidity, mysterious in aroma and flavor – wrapping honey around almond and apricot. Buy a case of the current 2005 release now and enjoy it for several years.

Truchard Roussane Carneros Napa Valley 2003 (91-93, $25)
A super-quality white Rhone-style table wine that tasted very French in character. This has very lively acidity, subtle and persistent flavors of melon, green apple and almond, a broad but not soft texture, and a long finish. Talk about personality!

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22 Varieties, One Vision: About Hospice du Rhone

Founded by Central Coast winemakers John Alban and Mat Garretson and what was then known as the Viognier Guild, the first Hospice du Rhone festival was 14 years ago. The festival bills itself as “the World’s Largest International Celebration of Rhone Variety Wines.” A shorter way they put it is: “22 varieties. One vision.”

The event is very international, but casual, familiar and fun. Attendees range from college age to senior citizens. Dress is very casual, the food at two catered luncheons and one big dinner is very good, and festival-goers get to mingle easily with the winemakers. It’s refreshing to hear the mostly young winemakers speak humbly and humorously about their challenges. Bob Lindquist, founder of Qupe winery in 1982, though not a youngster anymore, showed the same humility accepting the festival’s Person of the Year award. (That is until somebody mentioned the San Francisco Giants to the loyal Dodgers fan.)

Held in the city of Paso Robles (pop. 25,000) at the Western-style Mid-State Fairgrounds, the festival includes a barrel auction directed this year by Ursula Hermacinski that raised money to help the non-profit organization “carry out programs that benefit Rhone producers throughout the world.” For more information, please go to www.hospicedurhone.org , or call 805.784.9543.


May 18, 2006