Recommendations from the Rhone Rangers Tasting

When I think of wines from the Rhône Valley, I think of juicy Grenache, meaty Syrah, and complex GSM blends. But the first wine that wowed me at the 16^th Annual Rhône Rangers Grand Tasting event in San Francisco this past weekend was a white wine. It reminded me of how tasty the white Rhône varieties are—and with the weather warming up, this was a helpful reminder!

When I arrived at the Fort Mason Pavilion on Saturday afternoon, I didn’t have a plan of action. The wineries were organized alphabetically so I started at Andrew Murray and strolled down to Davis Family Vineyards, a booth that was crowded and a winery I'd never heard of before.  

I was very impressed with the Davis Family 2009 “Cuvee Luke” ($26/bottle). Named after their grandson and sourced from vineyards in the Sierra Foothills, this refreshing white is a classic blend of Marsanne, Roussane, and Viognier. It is opulent yet balanced with ripe fruit flavors and lively acidity. The Davis Family Tasting Room is in Healdsburg and also offers quite a few red wines including Pinot Noir, Zinfandel and Syrah.

I discovered a scrumptious Grenache from Mounts Family Winery, another Healdsburg-based winery. Their 2010 Grenache ($30/bottle) is estate-grown in the Dry Creek Valley. It is medium-bodied and luscious with plenty of red fruit on the palate and a finish that tastes like strawberries and spice.

My next stop was for the famed 2011 Grenache Blanc ($24/bottl) from Two Shepherds Vineyards. Recently recommended by Jon Bonné in the SF Chronicle, it is a delicious and super-limited production sourced from the Santa Ynez Valley. Aged on the lees in a combination of neutral oak and stainless steel, this white wine is abundant and persistent on the palate with citrus. stone fruit, and excellent acidity. Winemaker and founder William Allen uses an Old World, hands-off approach as he gently “shepherds” the grapes from the vineyard to the bottle. His Grenache ($32/bottle) and Syrah ($35/bottle) come from Russian River Valley and are very tasty with bright fruit and delicate tannins.

The best Mourvedré I tasted was from Kenneth Volk Vineyards. From the Enz Vinyeard in Lime Kiln Valley (San Benito County), the 2009 Mourvedré is rich and succulent with notes of black cherry, licorice, and blueberry. If you’re into “heirloom” wines, definitely check this winery out—they produce wines that are not usually farmed in California, including Torrontes, Aglianico, Negrette, and Tempranillo.

As I approached the end of the alphabet, I arrived at Zaca Mesa, a winery in Los Olivos that I visited about eight years ago. From the vibrant 2010 Viognier (only $16/bottle!) to the tasty 2008 “Z Cuvee” ($20/bottle), the wines were just as enjoyable as I remembered them. Current winemaker Eric Mohseni even poured me a little something special—the 2009 Black Bear Block Syrah ($60/bottle), which stole the spotlight. It was powerful yet elegant with flavors of blackberry, plum, and licorice. The Black Bear Block was named for the black bears that live nearby; it is the oldest remaining Syrah vineyard on the Central Coast and was the first planting of Syrah in the Santa Barbara County. It was truly a grand finale!

If you didn’t make it to the Rhône Rangers tasting this year, I hope you can make it next year. It was a great event with so many fantastic producers. Thank you to the organizers and all of the participants! There are RR events coming soon to Los Angeles (June 23^rd) and Chicago (September 11-12^th).

Are you a fan of Rhône varieties? Who are your favorite producers of American Rhône wines?

It's so good at Elyse Winery!

Now that I'm living in Yountville, I frequent Redd Restaurant on Washington Street quite often, as do most "Yountvillains". I've seen Ray Coursen, the owner/winemaker of Elyse Winery, at the bar there a handful of times. So when I was putting together a tasting itinerary for my friend Jasmine and myself, "Elyse" was fresh on my mind.

We called the tasting room at the last minute this past Thursday (I'm not so good about making appointments in advance). Rick answered the phone and, without pretense or snobbery, told us to come on in.

Fifteen minutes later, we were standing at the tasting bar alongside three other ladies (two of whom had just enjoyed a glass of Elyse wine at Redd and like us, called for a last minute tasting appointment). As our luck would have it, Ray Coursen was on the other side of the bar; he offered to pour us through the entire lineup (about 10 wines).

"We're not going to say no," I said.

"I'm not good at saying no either," Ray joked. "If I were a woman, I'd always be pregnant!" The tasting room filled with laughter.

Standing over 6 feet tall, Ray looked like a giant in front of the sloping ceiling of the cozy tasting room--albeit a jolly giant. Along with a few more hearty laughs, he shared the intimate details of the vineyards where he grows his fruit and said a quite a few things to make all five of us laugh. It was an enjoyable experience and I loved almost every single wine (I'm just not a Petite Sirah fan, but Jasmine thought it was divine!).

My favorite was the "C'est si Bon" ("It's so good" in French), a Rhone-style blend with bright red fruit, good minerality, and a medium body. This is offered by the glass at Redd, so if you can't make it to the winery, I suggest you get to the bar at Redd for a glass (or two as it is so easy to drink)!

Although my plan was to not accumulate any more wine until I've got more room in my wine fridge (with 6 cases in storage that might be a while!), I couldn't say no to taking some Elyse home with me. I purchased a couple bottles of the "C'est si Bon", and some of the "Black-Sears" Zinfandel. The Cabernet Sauvignons were also delicious and offered at a nice price point. If I were in the market to join a wine club, this would be it!

www.elysewinery.com; also on Facebook!