Recommendation for a good Cali red please

A friend has a colleague at her work who is off to California for a while and has asked her about a good bottle of wine to bring back from California for someone. She has asked me. Now I am asking my respected US wine drinking friends.

Evidently 'the colleague' doesn't think much of Zinfandel although understands that that is the wine one associates with California. We think he would rather have a red than a white. Advice on a good label and vintage, please. All advice gratefully received.

Thanks,
Sue

Sue,
I'm an unabashed fan of most wines from Edmunds St John. I would be tempted to suggest the 2005 Edmunds St John Bassetti Syrah (I have not tasted and I'm not 100% sure it has been released yet). Steve Edmunds claims it is the best Syrah he's ever made and Steve is not one to go around tooting his own horn, so that is good enough of a recommendation for me.
Of course, if your friend is hell bent on spending big $$$, I'm sure there will be other excellent recommendations to follow in this thread.
Bill

Sue,

A David Bruce Petite Syrah would be a good alternative. Any vintage would be fine.
If they cannot find that, most Petite Syrah's you pick up would be fine.
The number of producers of Petite Syrah in California are few, but they are passionate at what they do

Advice on a good label and vintage, please. All advice gratefully received. Thanks, Sue

ESJ is always good, as suggested. I just did a tasting at Chimney Rock which is one of the Stag's Leap District wineries in Napa. I was pleasantly surprised to find not-so-typical California wines there, i.e. they didn't oak you to death, there was balance, and the flavors were subtle. Any one of their reds would be enjoyable. They go across the board in pricing.

I agree with Chimney Rock.

Another suggestion would be the Hess Collection Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon. Quite elegant and balanced and not all "that" expensive.

I have enjoyed recent vintages of the Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir. It's quite reasonably priced as well.

Pretty broad request, young lady, but you know that. Here are a few that are on the market that are actually enjoyable. Unfortunately the pricing has gotten ridiculous:

Cabernet Sauvignon

2004 Lewis, Hillstone Vineyard, Napa Valley
2004 Shafer, Stags Leap District, One Point Five
2004 David Arthur, Napa Valley

Pinot Noir

2005 Kosta Browne gets a lot of press -- it is overblown for me, but maybe this person likes that style?
2005 W.H. Smith, Sonoma Coast (good value)
2005 Rochioli, Russian River Valley

Syrah

2004 JC Cellars, Fess Parker's Vineyard (good value)
2004 Rosenblum, Solano County, England-Shaw Vineyard

I'd recommend Ridge Geyserville even though Zinfandel is the largest component of the blend. Personally it's what I serve to folks who are into wine but are not too familiar with California wine. Recently a friend from Lyon who was on assignment in the U.S. for a year, was wondering what California wine she could bring back for family and friends. After I turned her on to Geyserville, she returned to France with a case in tow.

Then again, I'm a bit biased because I live in Cupertino, consider Ridge my "home town" winery and visit them often.

cheers
al

Ridge is the big name.

Edmunds St John (ESJ) is the cult classic. Search in the archives here if you somehow haven't been following our enthousiasm for Steve's wines.

[Jenise]

I'd recommend Ridge Geyserville even though Zinfandel is the largest component of the blend. Personally it's what I serve to folks who are into wine but are not too familiar with California wine. Recently a friend from Lyon who was on assignment in the U.S. for a year, was wondering what California wine she could bring back for family and friends. After I turned her on to Geyserville, she returned to France with a case in tow.

Then again, I'm a bit biased because I live in Cupertino, consider Ridge my "home town" winery and visit them often.

cheers
al

What I would recommend, too. I would also without hesitation substitute a Lytton Springs if one were at a wine store that had one and not the other. Fortunately most good wine stores will have both--another plus, Sue. These wines are not only some of the best examples of California wine at any price, they're easy to find.

Sue, these wines are iconoclastic. They are uniformly outstanding and unique, and even people like me who are not fans of zinfandel in general are Ridge fans. These wines are uniquely American.

Agree with the recommendations for Cab and Pinot. Even though CA CA is doing very well with Syrah and the ESJ and others recommended are fine examples, it is kind of like bringing coals to Newcastle, with all the Shiraz from Oz around.

Even thought Pinot in Kiwiland is getting better and better, examples from RRV, Santa Lucia Highlands, and Santa Rita Hills will impress.

CA CA

Freudian slip, Carl?

Seems to me that a price point would be a good idea. How much does the friend want to spend? $1000/bottle? Somewhat less? Less than $100/bottle? That makes the most sense to me. I've tasted one or two $100 wines and, so far, remain unimpressed. Good wines, sure, but not worth that price to me. I've had better for far less. I think most or all of the suggestions so far are in that range, anyway. I certainly hope so!

Hi everyone - thank you for your replies

Bill/Gary /Rahsaan - I've heard a lot of good things about Edmunds St Johns on this forum and it would be interesting to see what a California Syrah is like, as Aussie Shiraz is probably the most popular red bought in NZ wine shops and we are making some quite good ones here in NZ too. Can you pin down the vintage to look for?

John - I'm not really familiar with Petite Syrah.

Gary / Brian - Any particular wine or vintage from Chimney Rock?

Sam - I have had ABC Pinot Noir here before. They make about six. Any particular one? I do remember a fascinating white they made, I think it was the Hildegard.

Randy - That's a big selection. I think we are now gravitating towards Pinot Noir or Syrah, as they are flavour profiles we know well. I don't think 'overblown' Pinot Noir is a good thing. I've had a Californian Pinot Noir that tasted like Syrah and I thought what a waste. I think Pinot Noir does need to show the subtlety of the grape.

Alex / Rahsaan / Jenise - We can get Ridge here. A shop called Scenic Cellars in Taupo seems to have a perennial allocation. Lots of back vintages too. Yes - I do like some of these wines.

Carl - are you saying that Californian Syrah is like Aus Shiraz? I've heard good things about RRV pinots.

Isaac - No idea how much they want to spend, but if they had a spare $1000, I think they would rather bring a case back than a single bottle. I would definitely say quite a bit less than $100 a bottle. We lose on the deal when we convert Kiwi dollars to US dollars.

Cheers, Sue

Gary / Brian - Any particular wine or vintage from Chimney Rock?

Both the '02 and the '03 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon were very tasty. They also have a Bordeaux-style blend called Elevage which is pretty good, too. All of these wines were fermented in stainless and then spent 18 months in new French oak. They go for between US $75.00 and US $100.00. If I were to read this, I'd simply take a pass, but I tried them and liked them.

Gary / Brian - Any particular wine or vintage from Chimney Rock?

Both the '02 and the '03 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon were very tasty. They also have a Bordeaux-style blend called Elevage which is pretty good, too. All of these wines were fermented in stainless and then spent 18 months in new French oak. They go for between US $75.00 and US $100.00. If I were to read this, I'd simply take a pass, but I tried them and liked them.

$75 - $100. Gulp. They would have to be good for that amount of dosh.

I don't think 'overblown' Pinot Noir is a good thing. I've had a Californian Pinot Noir that tasted like Syrah and I thought what a waste.

Welcome to California, the land of thick, fat and gooey...

I don't think 'overblown' Pinot Noir is a good thing. I've had a Californian Pinot Noir that tasted like Syrah and I thought what a waste.

Welcome to California, the land of thick, fat and gooey...

Sounds more like my body type and not my wine type. I didn't know you knew how I looked.

Gary / Brian - Any particular wine or vintage from Chimney Rock?

Both the '02 and the '03 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon were very tasty. They also have a Bordeaux-style blend called Elevage which is pretty good, too. All of these wines were fermented in stainless and then spent 18 months in new French oak. They go for between US $75.00 and US $100.00. If I were to read this, I'd simply take a pass, but I tried them and liked them.

$75 - $100. Gulp. They would have to be good for that amount of dosh.

California wineries, especially those in Napa, invented the term "sticker shock." This is why I do a lot of tasting but not a lot of buying.

Bill/Gary /Rahsaan - I've heard a lot of good things about Edmunds St Johns on this forum and it would be interesting to see what a California Syrah is like, as Aussie Shiraz is probably the most popular red bought in NZ wine shops and we are making some quite good ones here in NZ too. Can you pin down the vintage to look for?

In general 02 was a tough year and not the most representative, although the 02 "Shadow" CA syrah is great value at about $10. Otherwise it all depends on what is available and I think some 03 and 05s are the recent releases (depending on bottling), but obviously older vintages are great as well. If your friend is in the Bay Area they could even contact Steve directly.

Cedarville and Terre Rouge are two other producers that make good California Syrah. Any vintage of Cedarville should be fine. With the Terre Rouge, look for the Sentinel Block Syrah or the Noir (a Rhone style blend). Again, whatever vintage is available should be good.

Mike

I have enjoyed recent vintages of the Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir. It's quite reasonably priced as well.

Sam, I can cross ABC off the list as I've just found out that someone is importing it into New Zealand. It is available at the "Wine Circle" in Kumeu (nicely positioned between the Kumeu River and Coopers Creek cellar doors) and he has five of the six pinot noirs. So no point in carting ABC back if it is already available here. Chris at the Wine Circle also has some of Jim Clenenden's other quirky labels and a couple of Qupe wines as well.

Bill/Gary /Rahsaan - I've heard a lot of good things about Edmunds St Johns on this forum and it would be interesting to see what a California Syrah is like, as Aussie Shiraz is probably the most popular red bought in NZ wine shops and we are making some quite good ones here in NZ too. Can you pin down the vintage to look for?

In general 02 was a tough year and not the most representative, although the 02 "Shadow" CA syrah is great value at about $10. Otherwise it all depends on what is available and I think some 03 and 05s are the recent releases (depending on bottling), but obviously older vintages are great as well. If your friend is in the Bay Area they could even contact Steve directly.

Sue,
What Rahsaan said. I've stashed away a bunch of the 2001 Wylie Fenaughty Syrah and the 2001 Los Robles Viejos (A Rhone Blend). The LRV is in a very nice place right now. The WF still needs a few years, but drinks well with 5 or 6 hours in a decanter for current consumption.
The 2005 Bassetti Syrah is supposedly a keeper as well, but I've not had it
BP

One more small production winery that I really like: Elizabeth Spenser. They're kinda negociants, but they have a tasting room in Rutherford across from Rutherford Grill/Beaulieu. The wine maker sources really nice grapes, and everything they make, imo, is balanced and elegant. I actually tried their new Mendocino Chenin Blanc yesterday. Apricot and citrus! Yum!

If you are actually visitng the valley, check them out. Their wines are "relatively" affordable, too.