The "New, Improved (?) Rhone Rangers"

[Randy Caparoso]

There are lots of "good" producers out there, but I was talking specifically about wines which pretty much stretch the boundaries of what people expect in the respective grapes. Not that bigger is necessarily better. But one has to admit, for instance, that St. Joseph makes extremely good, interesting Syrah based wines in the Rhone, but similar types from the Cote Rotie are somewhat more dramatic in scale.

RH Phillips, for instance, certainly makes delicious Rhone style reds and whites, but their wines tend to fall on the narrow, even lean, side. Or Qupe -- their "Central Coast" Syrah is a great value for drinking, their "Bien Nacido Reserve" Syrah intense and sensual, but it's their "Bien Nacido Hillside Select" that absolutely astounds the senses.

Joseph Phelps is a granddaddy, alright; but in spite of their historicity, one does not tend to write home about their Syrahs, which tend to be a bit lean. It's the same with, say, Louis Martini Merlot -- it may have been California's first, but it currently is not first in many people's mind when it comes to top rated Merlot.

That's all I'm saying.