2000 Los Robles Viejos Red WineI've worked since 1985 with Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah out of a deep affection for the finest blended red wines of the Southern Rhône, and a desire to produce a wine in California that could give me a similar taste experience, and a similar kind of pleasure at the table. For twelve years Edmunds St. John produced a wine called Les Côtes Sauvages, that occasionally brought to mind certain characteristics of the wines that inspired it. More recently Rocks and Gravel has shown little Provençal flashes, in the attempt to fill that same tall order. Both of those wines were produced using the best quality Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah that I could get my hands on, grapes that were not easily come by, that proved themselves over the long haul. But there was never the opportunity to work with the three varieties all grown in the same place, by the same hand, let alone in soils remotely similar to those found in a place like Chateauneuf du Pape, where the blend of Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah brings forth perhaps its finest expression. Then, in a fortuitous conjuction of intuition and blind luck, I was introduced to the Rozets, owners of a property in the hills west of Paso Robles, and I was able to give them the encouragement they needed to undertake the considerable risk of planting the greater part of the constellation of Southern (and Northern) Rhône varieties, side by side, in the rocky calcareous soils that make their Rozet Vineyard the ideal site for just such an undertaking. To make the story even better, the introduction was made by the man who just may be the finest American grower of Rhône varieties in California, who is the viticultural consultant for the project. If the wines from the 2000 vintage are any indication, this is one of the most exciting new vineyards in all California, one to watch. FRUIT SOURCE: Rozet Vineyard, Paso Robles. Planted in 1998, in limestone soils, roughly a mile west of Highway 101, in the Paso Robles hills. It's hot in Paso in the summertime, with daytime temperatures reaching into the 100's, yet by mid-afternoon, the westerlies begin to come into play -- strong cooling winds racing through the famed "Templeton Gap," and bringing the mercury down overnight into the 50s (and sometimes below). The limestone soil seems to give wines of both firm structure and great finesse. It also lends a "minerally" side to the aroma and taste profiles of the wines grown in it. The Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah and Counoise grown at Rozet are farmed with great attention to vine balance and the restricition of yields to maximize the intensity of expression in the fruit. WINEMAKING NOTES: The basic approach with these grapes is the same as for all our red wines; grapes are hand-picked into half-ton bins, on arrival at the winery they're sorted and destemmed into open top fermenters. Cuvaisons average 10-15 days. Cap management is by manual punchdown, 2-4 times daily, with occasional pumping over to draw off any excessive heat during the most vigorous period of ferment. The Syrah and Grenache were both inoculated with a yeast strain originating in the Côtes-du Rhone. The Mourvèdre and Counoise were fermented without inoculation. The Grenache was co-fermented with the Syrah. The Mourvèdre and Counoise were cofermented, and that fermentation was completed after blending with a portion of the Syrah-Grenache wine. So the "mariage" of the separate cepages was undertaken very early on, providing an extra measure of integration. After pressing, directly into neutral French oak puncheons, and subsequent malolactic fermentation, and natural settling during the first stage of barrel aging, the final blend was assembled (45% Mourvèdre, 30% Syrah, 21% Grenache, 4% Counoise) in the Spring of 2001. WINEMAKERS TASTING NOTES: Deep purple-red. The nose is a potpourri: fresh lavender, violets, plumskin, mulberry, red meat, fennel-seed, incense. Velvety texture on entry. Lovely sweet blue and red fruit tones, succulent tannins. Should develop nicely for several years. TOTAL PRODUCTION: 450 cases. SUGGESTED RETAIL: $28.00 AVAILABLE: May 1, 2002 PRODUCED AND BOTTLED BY INTUITION AND BLIND LUCK |
