WTN: Ryme 2013 Cabernet Franc

It's like being a newbie all over again, coming back to avant-garde, post-revolutionary California wine after a few years away from the scene, which now apparently involves lots of dirty goats and rowdy donkeys. Having duly stashed some Rhys and Arnot-Roberts in the cellar, I stumbled across a Ryme 2013 Russian River Valley Cabernet Franc, Alegria Vineyard at a small local shop. 12.6% ABV, $32.00. Medium garnet, predominantly plum-skin aromas and plummy flavors, opening into barely-ripe blueberries with air; some minerality and drying tannins. I can't make up my mind about this wine. On the one hand, I'd choose it in a hot second over a million other bottles: it's restrained, it's got character, it's food-friendly, etc. On the other hand, its restraint may actually get the better of it: right now, at least, it's not giving as much as I'd like, and I can't tell whether that'll change. I worry, in my admittedly armchair and amateurish way, that what this boils down to is that while it's certainly possible to make lively, savory, restrained, moderate-alcohol wines with varietal character and even a little personality in California, the economics of California wine country make it hard to make a living at it at competitive price points. If this were $20, I'd buy more, but as it stands, I think what I'll do is keep trying other Ryme wines until I find one that moves me a little more.

patchen: You might try the Broc Cellars cabernet francs from Santa Barbara. A little more "oomph" perhaps, but definitely cab franc in character.

Thanks, Brian: Broc is on my list of things to try, but I'm still trying to see whether it's distributed here! I'll look for the Cab Franc, one way or another.

There are also some wonderful Cab Francs coming out of the Finger Lakes; Glenora and Anthony Road come to mind.

....and Fox Run Carl.

Since 2008 I've been helping a friend in Oregon produce a Cabernet Franc based wine called Bebamé, from grapes grown in the Apple Hill area in El Dorado County. (The other variety involved is Gamay, never in quantities greater than 5%) Not sure if it's in the Chicago market, but it's definitely a wine that is very pleasurable to drink, with nice structure, and freshness, and suppleness.

[David M. Bueker]

Ah the economics of California wine is a truly vexing question. There are so many "new California"/IPOB type wines that I like, and more I want to try, but I am getting to the point of not wanting to pay the price anymore. The wines that stay in the $30s or even low $40s don't bother me too much, but now there are numerous wines in these styles that run $75-$100. I don't know how much longer I can look past the price disparity between top California wines and French or Spanish counterparts that are just as good at significantly lower prices.

Yes, I like a lot of "new California: but for me even $30s and $40s are steep for introductions. Cabernets from producers with no track record that cost more than Cantemerle, Cab Franc that's more than Breton or Baudry, Syrahs or GSMs that are more expensive than Texier (or ESJ!)etc etc. When your entry Chardonnay is $50 it dampens my interest.

I do think the Bebame Steve mentions is a really fun wine, in NY about $18-20.

[David M. Bueker]

The Littorai appellation Pinot Noirs are now $55. $55!! Same price as Jadot Beaune Clos des Ursules. I love Littorai, but I know which is the better wine in that price range.

I'm more forgiving about the price when the wine in question is, say, a Pinot or a Syrah, maybe because prices in Burgundy and the Rhône have escalated, too (I can't buy Chevillon 1er Crus for $40-50 a bottle the way I used to), maybe because those are the wines that are more likely to make my eyes roll back in my head, all things considered. When my points of comparison are Loire reds, or Beaujolais, or various less-fancy Italian appellations, I get tougher. At some level, though, I'm not sure why I think that way: just because two wines are from the same grape, that doesn't necessarily mean they're fungible or commensurable; and if we pursue wine that speaks of the place it's grown and made, we have to accept that part of how wines speak of those places is via their price tags. (Terroir includes the economics of agricultural real estate, labor markets, local regulatory schemes, etc.)

Maybe my compromise is to keep trying these single bottles...

[David M. Bueker]

It is true that the prices for things like Chevillon have gone up, but even the top Chevillon wines, with huge pedigree/track record are still around the same price as a bottle of delicious, but track record free Rhys Skyline.

True. (I guess I was thinking of the case of Porter Creek I recently bought, more than Rhys.) And for all the expansiveness I'm willing to give to the concept of terroir, I don't think cult commodity status is part of it, no matter the etymological connections between "cult" and "agriculture"...

[Jenise]

Interesting discussion. FWIW, I can't recall the last time I so much as laid eyes on a bottle of California Cab Franc. It's grown here for blending but we don't see much of it as a single variety. In fact, I know of a great old vines vineyard of it that was recently ripped out so that dolcetto could be planted instead. I kid you not, dolcetto.

[David M. Bueker]

Interesting discussion. FWIW, I can't recall the last time I so much as laid eyes on a bottle of California Cab Franc. It's grown here for blending but we don't see much of it as a single variety. In fact, I know of a great old vines vineyard of it that was recently ripped out so that dolcetto could be planted instead. I kid you not, dolcetto.

Hey, don't knock Dolcetto. Sam Bilbro (Idlewild) is doing great things with his Dolcetto.

[Jenise]

Interesting discussion. FWIW, I can't recall the last time I so much as laid eyes on a bottle of California Cab Franc. It's grown here for blending but we don't see much of it as a single variety. In fact, I know of a great old vines vineyard of it that was recently ripped out so that dolcetto could be planted instead. I kid you not, dolcetto.

Hey, don't knock Dolcetto. Sam Bilbro (Idlewild) is doing great things with his Dolcetto.

I had a delicious version from Palmina the other day, too. It's just a little ironic, in this case, since WA cab franc makers deride the public for not buying cab franc "because they don't know what it is". There is a resistance up here to anything but the usual suspects. So those same people are going to flock to dolcetto?

The California ones I see most in Chicago are from Lang & Reed -- IIRC, they do a North Coast bottling that's sub-$25, and also a pricier one from a relatively cool downriver vineyard in Napa. I've enjoyed these a lot in the past. Also, to add to the New York State recommendations above, which I'll watch for, we had very nice North Fork Cab Franc from Bedell about a year ago... it was in a restaurant, so not sure of the retail price.

[Jenise]

The California ones I see most in Chicago are from Lang & Reed -- IIRC, they do a North Coast bottling that's sub-$25, and also a pricier one from a relatively cool downriver vineyard in Napa. I've enjoyed these a lot in the past. Also, to add to the New York State recommendations above, which I'll watch for, we had very nice North Fork Cab Franc from Bedell about a year ago... it was in a restaurant, so not sure of the retail price.

I like the Lang & Reed a lot. Used to get it here, but the retail market has changed and the in-store consultants who loved, and therefore stocked, things like that are gone. You remind me that I had a sub-$20 cab franc a few years back from Steele that was exceptionally good. If I'm not mistaken, the fruit was from the cooler climate of Anderson or Mendocino.

the retail market has changed and the in-store consultants who loved, and therefore stocked, things like that are gone.

Your comment makes me think that I should give credit where it's due: I bought the Ryme at Pastoral, a very small, 2- or maybe 3-location shop in Chicago that sells sandwiches and prepared foods, cheese, charcuterie, bread, imported delicacies (Sicilian pistachio crema!)... and wine. They probably stock, say, 30 or 40 wines at a time, mostly in the $20-35 range. Usually, I'll recognize perhaps 10 things, all of which will appeal to me (Baudry "Les Granges"! Edmunds St. John!) And another 10 will appeal to me on the strength of the handwritten shelf talkers and the buyer's generally strong record. When I think about it, it's one of those small urban miracles. Long may it prosper.

[Jenise]

the retail market has changed and the in-store consultants who loved, and therefore stocked, things like that are gone.

Your comment makes me think that I should give credit where it's due: I bought the Ryme at Pastoral, a very small, 2- or maybe 3-location shop in Chicago that sells sandwiches and prepared foods, cheese, charcuterie, bread, imported delicacies (Sicilian pistachio crema!)... and wine. They probably stock, say, 30 or 40 wines at a time, mostly in the $20-35 range. Usually, I'll recognize perhaps 10 things, all of which will appeal to me (Baudry "Les Granges"! Edmunds St. John!) And another 10 will appeal to me on the strength of the handwritten shelf talkers and the buyer's generally strong record. When I think about it, it's one of those small urban miracles. Long may it prosper.

Indeed, long may it prosper, you have a gem there. Btw, no one would believe it today based on what Trader Joe's is now, but a looooong time ago when there were just two locations, exactly what you're describing (add a small butcher case with thick steaks and a bin with lettuce and a few tomatoes) were the first Trader Joe's. One of them was just up the hill from my first serious boyfriend's apartment and we purchased the ingredients for many a dinner there, including my first Bordeaux and Rhone wines.