At the recent 2023 Los Angeles Invitational Wine Competition in Santa Rosa, our panel opening day tasted 125 wines spread across 14 classes, from Sauvignon Blanc to Port.
By far, the most provocative class was “other red blends,” which meant that just about any black-grape variety could be blended with any other black-grape variety, and were. The upshot was several rather offbeat blends, like Zinfandel with Pinot Noir and Merlot with Syrah.
The blending of several different vats of wine into a cohesive whole is a tricky art, or it could be. Sometimes, a blended wine consists only of scraps left over after varietal wines have been made, stitched haphazardly together in hopes they hold together harmoniously until someone buys and consumes them.
At Santa Rosa, however, the seamlessness of the more impressive blends suggested attentiveness, precision and purpose. That, or they were happy accidents.
We tasted 21 blends, and our favorite was a strikingly delicious mix of 50 percent Grenache, 25 percent Zinfandel, 14 percent Petite Sirah, and 11 percent Syrah. It was a rare “spontaneous” double-gold wine, meaning all three panelists concurred at first taste that it warranted a gold medal. No deliberation or debate needed, just praise. We ultimately elected it best of class and nominated it for sweepstakes consideration.
It didn’t win any high honor in the concluding sweepstakes round, but that didn’t dim its luster, at least to this palate. While an unusual blend in its makeup, it worked on several levels, delivering intense color, dark fruit in aroma and flavor, tolerable tannins and a lingering finish. The wine – strapping, generously oaked, borderline sweet and saturated with suggestions of fully ripe blackberries and plums – is the Shale Oak Winery 2020 Paso Robles Willow Creek District “Ku.” It isn’t yet listed on the winery’s website, though the 2017 vintage of “Ku,” a far different blend, is listed at $68.
Our only other spontaneous double-gold medals from the class were downright bargains, the Quinta do Cume 2017 Duoro Selection (around $13), a dry, medium-bodied blend of traditional Portuguese grape varieties, standing out for its suggestions of ripe Bing cherries, black tea, smoke and tar, and the Bogle Family Wines 2019 California Essential Red (around $11), a fresh, buoyant and hefty yet graceful blend of Petite Sirah, Syrah, Teroldego and Cabernet Sauvignon.
In contrast to the excitement generated by the red blends, the class of Cabernet Sauvignon we judged was a perplexing letdown. There were 28 of them, each priced at least $75. We gave six of them gold medals, which if not for price would have been a decent representation. Wines priced $75 or more, however, should deliver a higher proportion of entries that warrant gold, but this field sagged when it came to characteristic and commanding Cabernet Sauvignon.
By and large, the wines were saturated with color but hard with tannin, shy of evocative fruit, and fleeting in finish. If I spend $75 on a Cabernet Sauvignon, at the least I expect it to say Cabernet Sauvignon with threads of cherries, olives, herbs and the like, be drinkable all on its own, balanced, elegant and persistent.
It isn’t like Napa Valley wasn’t represented – 18 of the wines were from Napa Valley or one of its sub-appellations (this we learned only after the identities of the wines were revealed following the competition; as at most competitions, wines were tasted blind).
And our experience apparently wasn’t an anomaly. A judge from a panel that also judged Cabernet Sauvignons – those priced $45 to $75 – also commented on the disappointing astringency and faint character in so many of the entries.
What’s to be made of these blunt, massive, unresolved and uncharming Cabernet Sauvignons? In time, after five to 10 years in the cellar, some may come around to express themselves with more authority and grace. Most were young, from the 2018 through the 2020 vintages, so there is that.
To that point, two of our three double-gold wines were from older vintages, the perfumey, classically tuned TB Cellars 2013 Napa Valley St. Helena “Otage” Cabernet Sauvignon ($95), which possessed a vigor and clarity despite – or maybe because of – its age, and the focused, layered, animated and enduring Serene Cellars 2017 Alexander Valley “Proposition” Cabernet Sauvignon ($110), ultimately voted our best of class.
The youthful exception that showed itself eminently approachable when so many weren’t was the Brecon Estate 2020 Paso Robles Adelaida District Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ($92), a composed and sleek take on the variety, its cherry fruit limned with suggestions of cedar and vanilla.
In the competition’s sweepstakes round, wines from Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley and Oregon’s Willamette Valley accounted for five of the six top honors.
The top wine – the “Best of the Best” – was the rich and hefty Russian River Vineyards 2018 Russian River Valley Green Valley Austin Vineyard Pinot Noir ($80), which powered its way to the top on the strength of its insinuating suggestions of strawberries, raspberries and cherries, its balance and its spice. It also was proclaimed the competition’s best-of-show red wine.
The best-of-show white wine was the husky Bricoleur Vineyards Russian River Valley Unoaked Chardonnay ($36), which showed with concentration and
clarity that Chardonnay need not be shot through with oak to seize attention; the wine’s tropical fruit and revitalizing acidity did that all on their own.
The best-of-show sparkling wine was the fleecy, yeasty and fruity King Estate Winery 2018 Willamette Valley Estate Method Champenoise Brut Cuveé ($37-$42), a delicately vibrant and dry blend of 60 percent Pinot Noir and 40 percent Chardonnay.
The best-of-show rosé wine was the King Estate Winery 2021 Willamette Valley Estate Rosé of Pinot Noir ($25), lacy in color but substantial in layered fruit flavors from assorted members of the berry family.
The only wine not from Russian River Valley or Willamette Valley to win a high honor was the best-of-show dessert wine, the Quady non-vintage California Starboard Batch 88 ($17 per 375-milliliter bottle, $27 per 750-milliliter bottle), a Port-inspired wine based largely on the Portuguese grape Tinta Roriz. Starboard Batch 88 has long been an unusually refreshing dessert wine, sweet without being syrupy, vibrant with suggestions of chocolate-dipped raisins and cherries, with a finish that lingers long into the night.