One of the reasons that there are so many wineries is that so many different people like to drink wine, and grow grapes, and make wine. Each is certain that his or her way is the best way, sometimes the only way, to do it.
People who go to California, or Missouri, or anyplace else with ambitions of becoming grape growers or winemakers often find themselves involved in the entire process, just the way actors often become directors because they don’t want another person ruining what they think is their great performance. Same in wine. Many years ago, John Shafer came through St. Louis and we visited. He was on his way to California to begin a retirement career as a grower of grapes. I asked if he was interested in making wine. "Not on your life!" he said vehemently. We all know what happened. He grew wonderful grapes, soon expanded into winemaking with superior wines, now has some of Napa County’s best.
A few weeks ago, someone of opposite opinions came through town as Jodie Boulet-Daughters, general manager of Consilience and Tre Anelli wines of Santa Barbara County, was host at a small tasting of Pinot Noirs and other wines under the Consilience label, which also offers some Rhone Valley styles. She and her husband, and Brett Escalera, their winemaker and partner, produce wines that are made from grapes someone else grows.
"We have good relationships with growers," she said, "and we like being able to pick and choose among Santa Barbara County grapes, which we think are outstanding. Brett is a veteran, and he knows what grows in the area.:"
Escalera, by the way, used to be a winemaker at Fess Parker, whose estate also is in Santa Barbara County, with some of the Consilience grapes coming from vineyards adjacent to the Parker vineyards. According to Boulet-Daughters, the label name means "unity of knowledge."
Like many Santa Barbara winemakers, including Jim Dierberg, Consilience specializes in Pinot Noir, though there also was a superior Syrah and an excellent Petite Sirah in the tasting, plus a couple of first-rate Pinot Noirs.
She brought a couple of whites, too, with a 2006 Viognier ($22.50) a delight when served well-chilled on a warm afternoon. It’s a blend of 95 percent Viognier from five different Santa Barbara vineyards, plus touches of Grenache Blanc and Pinot Grigio (each 2) and Verdehlo, a Spanish grape. The result was delicious, a fine balance between acid and alcohol, and lovely soft citrus in the flavor. An ‘06 Roussanne (also $22.50) was less impressive. Another complex blend of Roussanne (90), Grenache Blanc (5) and Viognier (5), it seemed short in the finish and with excessive flabbiness on the palate.
The reds, however, all were winners. The two Pinot Noirs, from ‘05 and ‘06, represented vastly different vineyards, yet showed some of the same fruit-forward, bright, fresh cherry tendencies of modern Pinots. I preferred the younger wine, but would be happy with either alongside a grilled salmon or pork roast.
While the wines shared some of the secondary vineyards, the ‘05 primarily came from River Bench (91 percent) while 96 percent of the ‘06 was from the Bien Nacido vineyard. Minimal amounts of grapes from Bien Nacido and Solomon Hills were in the ‘05; Solomon Hills and River Bench contributed to the 2006. The ‘06 is priced at about $35, a five-spot increase from the previous year.
My favorite of the tasting was the 2004 Syrah, blending Syrah (93), Petite Sirah (5) and Grenache (2) all from the Rodney Shull vineyard. Perhaps the extra time in oak (20 months, 60 percent French, 40 percent American) made an appreciable difference, but the wine was a sheer delight with a wonderful richness, a touch of tannin in the finish, high in alcohol (15.9 percent) but without the burn which often joins wine in that alcohol range. This wine is complete, and will improve for another half-dozen years, at which time it will be close to spectacular. An excellent value at $25.
The Petite Sirah, from 2005, is from three different vineyards (Rodney Shull, 85; Wolff, 14; La Presa, 1) and was in oak (88 percent French, 12 percent American) for 20 months. Excellent berry aroma, long on the palate and a superior finish. Another fine value at $23.
Consilience wines are a newcomer to the St. Louis market, and production is limited, but they’re worth seeking out.
–Joe