Carignan(e) and California (9 June 2017)

Carignan(e) and California

June 9, 2017

Meeting Diego Roig, co-owner of Populis, Elizia and Les Lunes, only increased my love for Carignan - aka Carignane, Mazuelo, Cariñena, Samsó, etc. - and helped to support my belief that California is a place where great, naturally made wine could be made.

We met at the store on Friday (June 2nd) to taste wines I'd already tasted and a couple of which I'd already purchased, save for the new vintage of Roig's attempt to make a Carignane for chilling and chugging (Carignane Reversée). Tasting through the wines this time, with Diego providing running commentary, freed me from having to take notes. Here is a young man who has combined traditional schooling (UC-Davis) with great in-the-field experience (several years working with natural winegrowers in Europe) to inform his work in small vineyards around California's north coast. He and his partners farm their rented parcels themselves, though in most cases the vineyards have already been at least sustainably farmed. They tend to harvest (always by hand) earlier than their neighbors, and they use no chemicals in the vineyard or winery. When they use sulfur in the winery, it is in very small amounts (15-50ppm). Despite their  minimal intervention approach, these are uniformly impeccable wines, which indicates exacting attention to detail. 

You can have your Carignane three ways here. While the source is the same - Larry Venturi's vineyard in Mendocino County, planted in 1948 - the winemaking methods differ. Under the Populis label you get a "normal" Carignane - meaty, gamey, intense black fruit, yet fresh and juicy (and sold out), and Carignane Reversée - brilliantly fresh and fragrant, meant to be chilled and, yes, chugged (in France they call it "glou-glou," like "glug-glug"). Reversée might just be the perfect summer thirst-quenching red wine. Under the Elizia label, things get more serious. Here, Carignan is fermented by whole cluster (stems and all), with a 30-day maceration, then aged a year in used wood. This is Carignane with uncommon elegance, almost Burgundy-like. All three expressions are beautifully rendered.

The age of Larry Venturi's vineyard should be a clue that Carignane is not so new to California. In fact, it is one of the first vinifera grapes to arrive in the state, in the mid-1800s. You can still find 100+ year-old parcels - Ridge Vineyards owns a few. The Monday after Diego's visit we had a great dinner at home: Deb made a California dream meal, grilled tri-tip, whole artichokes and smashed potatoes. We drank an ATP wine from Ridge - their Buchignani Ranch Carignane 2015. 100% Carignane, the oldest parcel of Buchignani Carignane was planted in 1927, the newest in the early 1950s. At 13%abv - remarkably restrained for California, and similar to all three of Diego's Carignanes - it was both intensely flavored and refreshing. A perfect marriage of wine and food. It is no coincidence that Ridge has been making wine naturally - no chemicals, indigenous yeast fermentations, minimal fining and/or filtration - in California for 50+ years.

Last night (Thursday, June 8th) we finally put Populis Carignane Reversée 2016 to the test, drinking it with another California favorite, Rancho Gordo Cassoulet beans, oven-roasted tomatoes and fennel sausage. Nailed it again! It is important to note that sometimes you get caught up in the moment when you're tasting with the winegrower, and everything tastes better than it does later on. Not so last night - of course it didn't hurt that we had a great meal to eat with it, but this is simply scrumptious wine. 

This is a good place to give a shout-out to a few more fine Carignane-makers: Alex Davis, at Porter Creek Vineyards (Russian River Valley, California), Rory Williams, at Calder Wine Company (Napa Valley, California) - both of whom also get their Carignan from sources in Mendocino County - and Marjorie Gallet, of Le Roc des Anges (Côte du Roussillon-Villages, France).

Beyond Carignane...

Diego doesn't stop at Carignane. There is a Populis Sauvignon Blanc, also from Venturi Vineyard in Mendocino County, from a one and three-quarter acre parcel planted between 1944-48, with 15ppm total sulfur. Absolutely remarkable. Under the Les Lunes label you get a beautifully old-fashioned Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot blend from a vineyard in Carneros - "old-fashioned" only because it's so low in alcohol (12.5%!) that it reminds me of California Cabernet from the 1960s-70s. It's also important to note that Cabernet and Merlot, while having nearly disappeared from Carneros, are the best grapes for that region which is chock full of mediocre Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. And finally, for now, Les Lunes Chardonnay 2015, which is made from fruit grown at Dobson Vineyard in Manton Valley in extreme northeastern California. I wonder how they found this vineyard, planted in 1972 with ungrafted vines, but we should all be glad they did, since the wine is so, well surprising. It's so subtle - not a word often applied to California Chardonnay - in the best way.