Just back from the frozen hamlet of Cloverdale in northern Sonoma County, where the Citrus Fairgrounds this past week played host to the 2023 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.
The Chronicle is the nation’s largest wine competition, this year drawing some 5500 entries from throughout North America. Over four days, some 60 judges convene in three-person panels to evaluate up to 100 wines a day.
To narrow the field to a manageable number of about 60 wines for the concluding sweepstakes round, subsequent panels meet to review and to trim the more heavily populated classes to a single worthy representative of that varietal wine or style for the finale. For example, the Chronicle has 12 classes of Chardonnay, organized by price range, so that crowded field is whittled to one sweepstakes candidate for the varietal.
My assignment in Cloverdale was to taste best-of-class wines, write tasting notes on each, and cut my choices to 50 wines I felt were the more interesting, based on their character, quality, what they have to say of a region or trend, and so forth. I like to be surprised by wine, so the 50, in sum, were the most surprising wines I found at Cloverdale. Those comments are now posted at the competition’s website – winejudging.com.
The Chronicle divides entries into 210 classes, ranging from Cabernet Sauvignon to wood-aged cider, Sauvignon Blanc to Sangria.
From that immense and varied field, several best-of-class wines originated in vineyards and wineries of Superior California, meaning the greater Sacramento area.
The most successful of those potential sweepstakes candidates was the Chateau d’ Estienne 2014
Sierra Foothills Barbera Dessert Wine, which after winning its class – Port-style wines priced $33 or more – went on to be elected the competition’s top specialty wine, a group that includes the more highly regarded dessert wines.
Chateau d’ Estienne, owned by the pediatric cardiologist Dr. Iman Joseph Kahwaji and his wife Rasha, is at Somerset in El Dorado County. Not surprisingly, their winemaker long has been celebrated for his winning ways with dessert wines, Marco Cappelli. (Another dessert wine that Marco makes, the Angelica for Miraflores Winery also in El Dorado County, is one of the 50 wines I chose for my recently published book “The Signature Wines of Superior California: 50 Wines that Define the Sierra Foothills, the Delta, Yolo and Lodi.”)
Anyway, my tasting note for the Chateau d’ Estienne Barbera Dessert Wine, jotted down while making my way through dozens of other best-of-class wines: “Nearly a decade after the grapes were picked, this gloriously imaginative take on Barbera is ready to drink. It is all satin, berries, cherries, fine-grained leather and a cracked nut or two. When to have it? Now, with or without cheese or chocolate or both.” The wine sells for $60.
Here are my notes for other best-of-class wines from around Sacramento:
Amador Cellars 2019 Shenandoah Valley Estate Aglianico: People who like several generous twists of the black-pepper grinder over their goblets will be lining up for this purple-tinged, dancing, solid and abidingly spicy Aglianico. It will benefit by a couple more years in the cellar to moderate its tannins, but if a succulent slice of beef is the centerpiece don’t hesitate to pull the cork tonight.
Aratás 2017 Amador County Shake Ridge Ranch Petite Sirah: In appearance, this Aratás Petite Sirah captures the variety’s customary inky purple, but on the palate the wine is an unusually serene take on the variety, its berry/cherry fruit flamboyant but cheery, its thread of licorice atypical but alluring, its tannins reserved and its oak finely integrated.
Bella Grace Vineyards 2020 Amador County Reserve Barbera: By Barbera standards, even in warm Amador County, this is an unusually lush take on the variety, coming off deep in color, plump in fruit, high in warmth, and diverting in its insinuation of smoldering duff.
Berryessa Gap Vineyards 2020 Her Majesty: “Her Majesty” is aptly named, from the head-turning snap of her seductive fragrance to the command of her sweet berry fruit. The four varied grape varieties that went into the blend were weaved seamlessly, yielding a wine of presence and endurance, but best set aside in the cellar for another few years to temper its tannins.
Blue Victorian 2020 Suisun Valley Mourvèdre: Mourvèdre, an exceptionally moody grape, yielding wines unpredictable in temperament, here comes off gregarious and spicy, with fruity flavors evocative of plums and blackberries, all set off against dusty tannins and salient acidity.
Bogle Family Vineyards 2021 California Chardonnay: The Bogle family hits the rare Chardonnay trifecta with its 2021 take on the varietal, seizing suggestions of all three fruit groups generally associated with the wine – tropical, citric, apple. While soft and easy-going, this Chardonnay has the structure to hang with fried chicken and the subtle layering that keeps it interesting even when sipped on its own as aperitif.
Bogle Family Vineyards 2020 Clarksburg Reserve Chardonnay: On ChatGTP’s list of words to describe wine, this Bogle Reserve Chardonnay squarely lands on several positive terms – aromatic, fruity, mellow, balanced, oaky, supple. In other words, a Chardonnay likely to satisfy most any palate, all smoothness, no rough edges, joyous on its own or with a bowl or pasta not aggressively seasoned.
Bogle Family Vineyards 2018 Clarksburg Petite Sirah Port: Clarksburg in the Sacramento/San Joaquin River Delta south of Sacramento increasingly is recognized for its Petite Sirah. Most of it is made into sumptuous and elastic table wines, but the Bogle family, old hands at working with Petite Sirah, used the grapes here to produce a densely colored and muscular yet friendly Port especially notable for its sweet expression of raspberries, its ticklish spice and its surprising persistence.
Clarksburg Wine Company 2019 Clarksburg Cabernet Franc: Cabernet Franc’s audience is divided into two schools, one that favors its expression of fruit, one that favors its expression of fresh herbs. This Clarksburg take falls into the latter group, suggestive up front of cherries but crossing the palate and lingering with alluring suggestions of eucalyptus, juniper, sage and mint.
Deer Hill Vineyards 2021 Yolo County Chardonnay: The sweetness and tickle of spiced apples, baked in a buttery crust.
Di Arie 2018 Shenandoah Valley Southern Exposure Zinfandel: Contrary to the view that California’s Sierra Foothills produce only Zinfandels of mass and bravado, this Southern Exposure out of El Dorado County is stately and tightly woven, delivering bright suggestions of raspberries against a savory backdrop, notable in large part for its insinuation of black pepper. The color is light and bright, the structure reinforcing without intruding on the wine’s mouth-watering premise, and the oak more welcome shadow than diverting spotlight.
Ironstone Vineyards 2020 Lodi Old Vine Reserve Zinfandel: Blackberries, briars and spice, all wrapped up in one plush and warm package, showing just why Lodi’s old vines are so cherished. Lodi is also cycling territory, its straight and long country roads inviting for day-long rides, which is just about how long this Zinfandel will linger on the palate.
Jeff Runquist 2021 Napa Valley Los Carneros Sisters Vineyard Chardonnay: Jeff Runquist, widely recognized for monumental red wines generous with oak, here takes a swing at Chardonnay and knocks it all the way across San Pablo and San Francisco bays to Oracle Park, where if it were available at concession stands would delight baseball fans who like a glass of wine with their hot dogs, provided the dog is light on condiments. This is pure Chardonnay, sleek and acid-driven, which weaves in a thread of refreshing lime alongside its tropical fruit.
Jeff Runquist 2021 Amador County Nostro Vino Vineyard Primitivo: Primitivo, Zinfandel’s generally reserved sibling, is all grown up and extroverted here, shouting at full throat about ripe berry fruit, heat (15.3 percent alcohol), a veritable gondola of peppery spice, and enough oak for Noah to build another ark. Don’t be afraid to pair it with a burrito fat with carnitas and beans, topped with cheese, sour cream and even a formidable salsa.
Jessie’s Grove 2019 Lodi Estate Carignane: Wrenched from vines planted in the late 1800s, this rare Carignane isn’t at all feeble, delighting nose and palate with suggestions of summer roses, berries and plums in its dry, streamlined and enlivening acidity.
L’Apéro Les Trois Green Walnut Aperitif Wine: Yep, walnuts clearly express themselves in this imaginative aperitif, along with cloves and cinnamon. Take it on its own, or blend into a cocktail. (L’Apéro is in Winters.)
Lewis Grace 2022 Alta Mesa Chenin Blanc: In its California heyday – and Chenin Blanc did have a heyday, back in the 1950s – Chenin Blanc customarily was sweet and soft. This isn’t that style of Chenin Blanc, showing with thrust and animation that winemakers today have a greater appreciation for the transparency and complexity that the variety can deliver. The Lewis Grace, out of a sub-appellation of Lodi, is all spiced pear, peach and apple. The back label suggests it be poured with grilled shrimp or oysters on the half shell, showing that everything about this Chenin Blanc is correct.
Lewis Grace 2022 Alta Mesa Verdelho: You know how one of those slight gymnasts can bolt down the runway, fly from the springboard and twist and twist and twist over the vault before landing on the mat solid and precise? This Verdelho is the wine equivalent, deceptive in its filigree color, then popping across the palate with zest and assurance, delighting the diner digging into anything from french fries to falafel.
Mettler Family Vineyards 2019 Lodi Old Vine “Epicenter” Zinfandel: For power and concentration, this aptly named “Epicenter” represents the best that Lodi’s old Zinfandel vines can yield, from the beckoning of its voluminous fruity aroma through its brambly and blackberry flavor to its spicy and caressing finish.
Michael David 2021 Lodi Sauvignon Blanc: Lodi, so long identified with blustery red wines, these days is the epicenter for vintners who understand that its fecund soils and amiable climate – cooler than often perceived – can do well by a wide range of green grapes, including Sauvignon Blanc, here brilliant in both flashing color and citric fruit, with an herbal thread that adds captivating complexity to a finish that lingers exceptionally long for the varietal.
Milliaire 2020 Calaveras County “Alley Cat” Alicante Bouschet: Sock it away in the cellar for a few more years, though already this is one entertaining wine, bringing movement, tension and individuality to a grape generally considered an afterthought, more filler than worthy of standing on its own. This Alicante Bouschet, however, is plenty exciting on its own, from its suggestions of brittle papyrus in aroma through its sturdy structure to a finish resonating with sweet berry fruit and peppery spice.
Secret Ravine 2020 Placer County Montepulciano: Who knew that the 2023 San Francisco Chronicle
Wine Competition would attract 20 Montepulcianos? Who knew that that many even were being made in North America? When judges of the Montepulciano class convened for the day, the best of the batch
was this strapping, concentrated and savory release, no doubt winning them over with its plush dark fruit and thread of char. Note that the tannins are chewy, and will benefit by a few years of cellaring.
Starfield Vineyards 2020 El Dorado Grenache: Fragrant, fine boned and incessant in its finish, the Starfield take on Grenache will be welcome at any table also set with any dish that involves lightly seasoned seafood, pork, beef or tofu.
Starfield Vineyards 2020 El Dorado The Big Canyon: For the accessibility and harmony of this Syrah-
based blend you wouldn’t know that it packs 15.2 percent alcohol. Neither hot nor coarse, The Big Canyon is all freshness, vitality and grace, its fruit sweet and juicy, its tannins in check, its oak modest.
Sunce Winery & Vineyard 2018 Clarksburg Heringer Vineyard Nebbiolo: Nebbiolo long has challenged and thwarted California vintners, too often coming off blunt, awkward and hard. Maybe it’s most at home at Clarksburg in the Sacramento/San Joaquin River Delta, which produced this lightly colored, sleek and racy interpretation. The fruit is all dark berries with a trace of cola and a whiff of ember, adding up to a Nebbiolo both keen and mouth watering.
Sunce 2019 Clarksburg Heringer Vineyards Zemlja’s Blend: The Heringer family’s gamble on respected but little cultivated grape varieties in the Sacramento/San Joaquin River Delta turns up a winner in the powerful aroma, polished fruit and agile build of this inspired blend of 60 percent Barbera and 40 percent Nebbiolo, two immigrants clearly as comfortable at home in California as they are in their native Italy.
Urban Cellars 2021 Amador County Shenandoah Valley Rosé of Barbera: An eccentric but nevertheless captivating pink wine. The Barbera is expressed with folds of cherry and berry fruit, flanked by tantalizing suggestions of smoke and a texture unusually creamy for a rosé.
Vina Moda 2020 Stanislaus County Tannat: Stanislaus County? Vina Moda? Tannat? It’s a language not widely spoken in California, though taken together they represent the state’s agrarian imagination. The result here is an inky red wine effusive with ripe meaty fruit and lashings of cola and chocolate. When would you have such a wine? How about with tonight’s birria tacos. Beef or goat, doesn’t matter, the wine has the backbone to pair with either. (Vina Moda is a winery in Murphys, Calaveras County.)