The "New, Improved (?) Rhone Rangers"

[Randy Caparoso]

For Bonita Springs, the best way is the mailing list. We just did a Murphy-Goode dinner (last week while the hurricane raged on the East Coast), and there's a multi-course Champagne thing coming up in Nov.

More "white knight" Rhone Ranger stuff: What of Roussanne? Bonny Doon fans will probably remember the sensational "Le Sophiste" Roussanne/Marsanne blends vinified by Grahm in the earlier part of this past decade. His diseased vineyard source was ripped out a few years ago, and last year he came out with a '97 Roussanne (from Paso Robles) under a straight varietal label which was exotically perfumed -- honey, jasmine, lime and apricot pit -- but lean and coarse on the palate. In Santa Barbara, both Zaca Mesa and Qupe have come out with several vintages of somewhat lusher, rounder, fleshier varietal bottlings, but there is still a tendency to end up somewhat flabby (Alban's Edna Valley Roussanne tend to be even fatter). Meanwhile, Tablas Creek in Paso Robles has some interesting stuff (new French clonal material) coming up (tank samples are viscous and honeyed, but the wine has been going into their varietal white blends which so far have been a bit tough and dry).

In my opinion, California grown Roussanne is a wine which is just on the edge of greatness. All we need to see are a couple of producers who can turn out consistently bright, textured, elegant wines. The natural varietal aromatics are certainly powerful enough. It's just a matter of vintners putting it all together in packages fulfilling the promises of those wonderful, once and future Le Sophistes.