2013 Bonny Doon "Le Cigare Volant - Reserve" Central Coast Rhône Blend

This blend of 55% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 16% Mourvèdre and 4% Cinsaut starts off with a reserved nose that slowly offers aromas of roasted cranberries, tangy black plum, dried lilacs and crushed asphalt. The palate shows a dried fruit elegance, with blackberry leather, loamy soils, minty herbs and roasted meats. (MK)

I can't tell you how excited I am to be offering this stunning wine from Bonny Doon. As some of you may know, I'm an ex-Dooner myself, I worked for Randall Grahm for a number of years running the tasting room and restaurant in Santa Cruz. Randall is a true pioneer of California wine and one of the brilliant minds of the wine world. His homage to the great wines of Châteauneuf-du-Pape called "Le Cigare Volant" is perhaps his most famed, and certainly longest longest running wine, the first release being the 1983 vintage. Though drolly named after a series of UFO sightings in the Rhône Valley, the wine itself has always been one of Randall's most serious and thoughtful undertakings. Sourced from some of the finest plantings of Rhône varietals across California, including 100+ year old vines at Del Barba Vineyard and 135 year old vines at Bechtold Vineyard. The wine is aged in various vessels including: Barriques (228L), to Demi-Muids (600L) and huge upright Foudres (10,000+L). The "Reserve" portion is then selected and given an extra 18 months élevage in 5 gallon glass carboys or demijohns. This extended ageing on the lees, without any oxygen, in a totally neutral vessel, gives fantastic depth, and layered complexity to the wine, and also seems to increase the wines ageing potential once finally bottled. I was working at Bonny Doon the first year Randall experimented with this fascinating technique, an entire wall of the winery was retro-fit with a hand-built, Redwood timber rack to hold the several hundred glass carboys. All these years later it's fascinating to taste the results. And what a brilliant wine it is. Even with 7+ years in bottle, the wine is still so fresh and vibrant, in fact, it's quite shy when first opened and I highly recommend a good decant to allow the wine to really sing. Once awoken in the glass the aromas are intoxicating - wild berries, garrigue, hints wood smoke, dried herbs, and earthy spices. Flavors of dark cherry, dried fruits - Christmas cake perhaps, a dusting of dark cocoa powder. Medium bodied and wonderfully silky and elegant on the palate with magical textural finesse. The finish is long and resonant showing a wine in perfect form but with plenty of stamina for the long haul. I know the inspiration for this wine is from the southern Rhône, but I can't help but think of some of the best, traditional styles of Brunello when I drink this wine, the understated power, and textural polish from extended ageing is paramount. Such a fascinating wine, one to savor with a long meal and good company.