CA wine for Francophiles

[John_Glas]

Arcadian.

Syrah’s for sure! I do like many of the Chardonnays also but need to try more Pinots as I have not been as impressed with them.

[John_Glas]

how come folks are always looking for new world wines that taste like old world, but never the other way around?

Perhaps because it’s so easy to find them?

Correct! While I can find Old World Wines from a number of retailers hardly any of them reside in MN and I am not buying Bordeaux from Total Wine!

[John_Glas]

how come folks are always looking for new world wines that taste like old world, but never the other way around?

also, the question presumes the variety of new world wines is greater than that of old world?

In my business world, I have a lot of people looking for Old World wines that taste like New World. “Pure, simple fresh fruit with less of the funk, please” is a regular request.

Dan Kravitz

I want all of that Funk!

[Al_Osterheld]

There are plenty of wines in CdP that taste too much like New World wines, I pretty much stopped buying almost of all of them.

-Al

[John_Glas]

I’ve been in blind tasting groups, that have included MWs and MSs, who have called various WC Chards as White Burgs.

This reminds me of the owner of a wine store I used to shop at a lot. He knew that my favorite wines were by Jacky Truchot. So, every time he had a new Burgundy producer he tried to get me to buy the wine by saying that the wine was Truchot-like. Many of the wines he recommended to me were quite nice in their own right but stylistically were nothing like the wines of Jacky Truchot. I cannot remember the last time I bought wine from this store.

At the end of the day they want to move wine! The trick with wine shop owners is to identify the wine geeks and deliver on a recommendation so they promote the shop and move a ton of wine.

[Tom_G_l_a_s_g_o_w]

There are plenty of wines in CdP that taste too much like New World wines, I pretty much stopped buying almost of all of them.

-Al

I wasn’t expecting CDP to be a favorite of someone who doesn’t like Cali or new world wines.

[Tom_G_l_a_s_g_o_w]

I’ve been in blind tasting groups, that have included MWs and MSs, who have called various WC Chards as White Burgs.

This reminds me of the owner of a wine store I used to shop at a lot. He knew that my favorite wines were by Jacky Truchot. So, every time he had a new Burgundy producer he tried to get me to buy the wine by saying that the wine was Truchot-like. Many of the wines he recommended to me were quite nice in their own right but stylistically were nothing like the wines of Jacky Truchot. I cannot remember the last time I bought wine from this store.

At the end of the day they want to move wine! The trick with wine shop owners is to identify the wine geeks and deliver on a recommendation so they promote the shop and move a ton of wine.

But it didn’t work!

[John_Glas]

Not exactly what you were asking, but knowing your friend is a BDX fan, you may want to consider Washington as well. Lots of great examples to consider. A couple favorites that come to mind are Andrew Will and JB Neufeld.

Tried a JB Neufeld this summer my brother brought into town:

2017 JB Neufeld Cabernet Sauvignon - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley (7/1/2021)
Brother in Town Lot’s of Wines!!!; 6/26/2021-7/4/2021: Blueberries, dust, mineral, wood and earth. Very elegant effort overall and should age for another five plus years. 91 points (91 points)

Probably would have liked it even more on day 2 and 3!

[Wes_Barton]

What’s really the point of this exercise? Sure, you can pour a Ceritas chardonnay to a francophile and they will enjoy it and probably find it as good as their usual fare. But what does that actually prove? They are not going to say, “O how tragic! Only now in this late hour do I see how closed-minded I was! At once, we must fill the cellar with California wine!” They will say, “Cool, glad there’s another CA producer making good stuff amidst that massive ocean of crap.”

The point of this exercise? For you, none, of course. For folks that are exploring regions/producers, stereotypes are rarely useful…and for many of the producers they’re never useful.

And, in the case of White Burgundy, there are various west coast producers that produce Chardonnay, mine included (they need air!), that scratches that itch at a fraction of the WB price…depending on the vintage, but unfortunately that qualifier applies to White Burg now too.

Sounds more like the friend who is a wine novice who has discovered and stuck with reds from two regions, not a Francophile per se. There’s a whole world of wine to explore beyond that. He’s either interested in trying other wines or not. It’s completely legitimate for someone to find something they like and feel no need to look further. (The number of different producers he buys from those two regions may be a tip off.)

If he wants to explore wine, there’s much more out there than just California. So sure, let him try some stuff he might like, but don’t push, and don’t limit to just CA.

Of course, if you live in CA or he visits, he might want to know some producers he’d enjoy visiting, so that adds value to the exercise.

[J_a_y_H_a_c_k]

Cabot Syrah for the Rhone drinkers.

I agree. I had a 2012 Cabot Kimberly’s Syrah a few months ago and although it was fruit driven, it was not sweet fruit and there was a spicy pepper backbone that was almost Rhone-ish. It combined positive characteristics of both climates and was drinkable at less than 20 years old.

But my real answer to the OP is, “Why waste time. Let them drink their wine. I feel sorry for their narrow palates, but more good stuff for us.”

[Corey_N]

Briceland, especially anything from Ishi Pishi Ranch.

I’d agree with this with a caveat – the wines tend to be a bit more exuberant when released and then some of baby fat seems to drop after a year or two. I think the Petit Verdot is probably the Frenchiest (is that a word?) wine in the Briceland stable.

[K_John_Joseph]

Ceritas, Chateau Montelena, Dunn, Stony Hill, Dominus. I would serve Cabernet with age and not Pinot Noir.

Agree with Howard.

Also agree with Sarah and Alfert, though, too. My cellar is 20% California and the rest old world. The Cali wines that speak to me are largely old cabs from the 70’s and 80’s and into the 90’s before Parker stunk up the joint, and it is often hard to differentiate from Bordeaux. I know my palate. And fitting square pegs into round holes is often a mistake. Also, it is not likely that you’d mistake new world Pinot for Burg, but there are some pinots that consistently impress me: Cameron and Thomas, old Eyrie. And I love Peay, and some Williams-Selyem, but I don’t think they’re old world in style.

RAEN Royal St. Robert Pinot Noir is old world in profile. Peay and WS decidedly not. Failla Occidental Ridge is excellent and should be enjoyable to burg drinkers and same with Goodfellow (not Cali). But you’re trying to bridge the gap, not convince them it’s French. Kapscandy’s bordeaux blend falls on that line, typically lower in alcohol and glycerin than its peers, but without giving up some of Napa’s more distinct fruit. Dominus from even the mid-2000s, and earlier if you can stomach the tariff, would be exceptional choices. I’m not a huge Dunn fan, so I’m a bit meh on that and their newer releases are trending away from the “let sit for 20 years or more before you open” profile now that the son has taken over.

[NoahR]

Ceritas, Chateau Montelena, Dunn, Stony Hill, Dominus. I would serve Cabernet with age and not Pinot Noir.

Agree with Howard.

Also agree with Sarah and Alfert, though, too. My cellar is 20% California and the rest old world. The Cali wines that speak to me are largely old cabs from the 70’s and 80’s and into the 90’s before Parker stunk up the joint, and it is often hard to differentiate from Bordeaux. I know my palate. And fitting square pegs into round holes is often a mistake. Also, it is not likely that you’d mistake new world Pinot for Burg, but there are some pinots that consistently impress me: Cameron and Thomas, old Eyrie. And I love Peay, and some Williams-Selyem, but I don’t think they’re old world in style.

RAEN Royal St. Robert Pinot Noir is old world in profile. Peay and WS decidedly not. Failla Occidental Ridge is excellent and should be enjoyable to burg drinkers and same with Goodfellow (not Cali). But you’re trying to bridge the gap, not convince them it’s French. Kapscandy’s bordeaux blend falls on that line, typically lower in alcohol and glycerin than its peers, but without giving up some of Napa’s more distinct fruit. Dominus from even the mid-2000s, and earlier if you can stomach the tariff, would be exceptional choices. I’m not a huge Dunn fan, so I’m a bit meh on that and their newer releases are trending away from the “let sit for 20 years or more before you open” profile now that the son has taken over.

Agree with everything you’ve said, though I remain a Dunn fan. And Goodfellow making good stuff definitely.

I am always wary of wines that try to be “Burgundian” pinots outside of Burgundy. That type of contortion is not suited to California weather. You can get into a mess of manipulated wines that way, which is part of why I’ve soured on a few WB Darlings…

[AstridKG]

Here’s another suggestion that goes in a completely different direction - how about presenting some of the fun and unusual wines from “native-ish” grapes, such as Mission or Flame Tokay?

I have also had excellent luck with rosé from California.