Had the pleasure of trekking through the Sierra foothills to the otherworldly confines of Renaissance Vineyard. First off, I would recommend a tasting appointment here for anyone traveling through California wine country, even though this is the last area anyone would think of as “California wine country” per se. The must-see-to-believe gated property features gilded Greek statuary, more palm trees per square foot than Hawaii, and camels. Seriously. The simple tasting room is understated by comparison, overlooking a pond with a view of some of the vineyards through the trees.
All the wine currently produced comes from the winery’s own property exclusively, about 50 acres of vines if I recall correctly. This comes as a shock to anyone perusing the list of available wines, which features about 30 different bottlings. Part of the story is that the winery used to have more than twice this acreage planted to vines; much was removed in the process of “fine tuning” the viticulture of the area to its current state. Additionally, Renaissance offers more vintages of its wines out of the tasting room than almost any other winery I know of. The selection is a bit dizzying at first.
We began with a tasting of several cabernet-based wines spanning 25 years of production (!) and progressed to some other wines after that.
2001 CABERNET SAUVIGNON RESERVE
Another astounding thing about Renaissance: this 2001 is their latest release of cabernet! Still very taut and firm with tannins, but with ample fruit and a forward cassis and leather nose. Overall a suave package with plenty of room to mature.
1999 CABERNET SAUVIGNON
A bit of a shocker on pouring, as this wine, only 2 years older than the previous one, had a much more mature, brick-colored appearance, contrasted with the dark plum hues of the 2001. Also with more secondary characteristics, earth, cedar, and leather on the nose. Somewhat less concentrated than the 2001, but well-rounded and still plenty of fruit to go around, with some tannic grip on the back end. Should be great for drinking now, but another 5 years or more would be fine as well.
1999 CABERNET SAUVIGNON RESERVE
Tasted from a bottle opened 2 days ago, this one had many similar characteristics to the regular bottling, with broader shoulders and still plenty of life.
1997 CABERNET SAUVIGNON LIBRARY RELEASE
A bit more mellowed-out, but shares the family resemblance to the above vintages. Really classic lines throughout, again with aging potential to boot.
1983 CABERNET SAUVIGNON FOUNDERS RESERVE
Very difficult to evaluate, as this super-anachronistic fellow was totally reductive out of the bottle, with rubber/sulfur prominent at first. Decanted and swirled generously, this only began to fade over an hour. Probably needs to be a weekend project to really get at its heart. This one still had a vital tannic grip, though, leading one to wonder if these mountain wines age on our calendar, or one one in some alternate universe.
I guess my real bottom line impressions of these cab-based wines are that this site produces cabernet of tremendous structure and body, achieving physiologic ripeness without jamminess or high-octane stylings of any kind. The wines have lots of fruit, but don’t pummel you with it, and have loads of real character that doesn’t come along every day, like a good Bordeaux…I was having vivid nostalgic flashbacks to 80’s/early '90’s Napa cabs and 2000 Bordeaux, and that’s a very good place to be for me.
Some others we tried:
2006 ROUSSANNE
Effusive nose of tropical fruits, like getting off a plane in Hawaii. A much more delicate, lithe palate. Likely great with shellfish.
2000 CLARET PRESTIGE
An unusual blend: 24% Merlot, 20% Cab Franc, 15% Sangiovese, 12% Malbec, 12% CabS, 11% Syrah, 6% “misc”! The smoothest overall profile of the reds I tried, but by no means soft. It has a welcoming fruit-forward nose with a mineral backstop, and a well-rounded palate full of ripe red and black fruits, mineral, and herb notes. Extremely enjoyable, but with the stuffing to go on for a while. I would love to know how this unconventional blend came to be, as it’s not like anything most people would associate with “claret”, though a great wine nonetheless.
2005 SYRAH
Really gorgeous nose full of blackberries, vanilla ice cream, and floral qualities. Its inky darkness has a cyclone fence of tannins, yet enough dark berry fruit to make it (kind of) accessible now. Only 14% alcohol. Plenty of mineral and underbrush, along with a meaty richness. Simply another singular Renaissance product, I imagine it as a “Cote Rotie of the pines”.
Fatigue prevents me from going on at much greater length; I will say that we had several 10+ year old late-harvest specimens that were enjoyable while not having so much of the cloying fruit salad quality that puts me off a lot of late harvest new-world wines. Again, the array of wines and vintages available at the winery is so vast as to be mind-bending. Lots of thanks to Lana, whose gracious hospitality helped make our visit so enjoyable.
I would definitely recommend planning a trip to Renaissance and arranging a tasting in advance. While it may seem a long way from anywhere else in “wine country”, you will not regret the trip in any way, as Renaissance is truly one-of-a-kind, a mandatory visit in my book. We hope to return soon.