Vintages
Weathervane reds alert us to new developments

By Randal Caparoso

Second of two parts

Here are descriptions of wines that, for me, represent significant changes in the way many of us will be thinking about fine wine in the years to come. Some of these wines are rare, but you will be able to find suitable substitutes if you look hard enough, or if you do the simplest thing, which is to ask your retailer for recommendations. Last week we covered white wines, this week, the reds.

Qupé, Santa Maria Valley Bien Nacido Hillside Estate Syrah (California) — Qupé proprietor Bob Lindquist has labored long and hard since 1982 to bring respectability to California-grown varietals native to the south of France. Not too long ago, even the most optimistic syrah lovers seriously doubted that California could ever reach the quality level of the northern Rhone Valley. The Bien Nacido Hillside Estate bottlings of the late '90s have been breakthroughs, and for the first time ever, we are enjoying the true spicy/peppery/violet-like perfume of the grape without a hint of flab or overripeness, something inundating the senses with big, dense, sinewy yet sensuously textured flavors.

Lindquist has built it, and now many more are bound to come. Where else in the United States? The key to it will be hillside slopes dominated by fractured rock where even mountain scrub has difficulty growing — but where the syrah really shines (as it does on France's "roasted" slopes).

Exciting sites like this are being developed as we speak in the Santa Rita Hills and Santa Ynez Valley of Santa Barbara, Paso Robles and in the higher elevations of Mendocino County. Then there are the hillsides of southern Oregon's Umqua and Rogue valleys. The potential is staggering, as, no doubt, the wines will be.

Tinto Pesquera Riserva, Bodegas Alejandro Fernandez (Ribera del Duero, Spain) — This estate has been doing so well for so long, it's easy to forget the fact that it has almost single-handedly thrust tempranillo into the pantheon of great red-wine grapes, where it truly belongs. For a taste of where the rest of Spain (and soon, we hope, Oregon and California) will be taking this grape, look to Bodegas Alejandro Fernandez.

To give you a sense of it, think of the sensuous, silken texture of pinot noir combined with the dense, sturdy, leather-glove elegance of cabernet sauvignon, and throw in the wild, rambunctious, uncontained character of syrah.

This goes a long ways toward describing the tinto pesquera, which defines itself with a voluminously aromatic nose suggestive of black tea, tobacco and black cherries steeped in brandy and liqueur. On the palate, the feel is thick and dense — beefed up by slightly chewy tannin — yet the flavors are so intense and juicy that the wine finishes full and voluptuous. It will be a great day when a tempranillo by the glass becomes as common as merlot and cabernet today.

Babcock, Santa Barbara "Fathom" (California) — This is Bryan Babcock's Bordeaux-style red, made from mostly cabernet franc, with smatterings of merlot and sometimes cabernet sauvignon, from the warmer parts of Santa Ynez Valley.

But unlike Bordeaux, the fruit here is more effusive, the structure doesn't get in the way of its pure deliciousness, and the result is a wine of exceptional food versatility. Beautiful arrays of aromas — sweet anise, mint, peppermint, blackberry and roasted pepper — arranged in the nose, and the tannins tend to be moderate, adding to a compact, velvety feel, and the layering of smoky, leafy, sweet berry flavors.

ADW, "Alliance" Barossa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot (South Australia) — If the Italians and Americans don't pick up the cause for wines as well priced as they are made, the Aussies surely will. They have long been sitting on some great old vines, and the quality of blends like this are as plain as day. This one is deep, lush and juicy; shimmering red in the glass, yet baby soft and round. And at $12 to $14 retail, it makes most other cabernets and merlots look grotesquely overpriced.

1999 Tikal, Altos de Mendoza "Amorio" Malbec (Argentina) — Malbec is one of the lesser-known red wine grapes of Bordeaux, but in the high vineyards of Mendoza it is king, and it truly shakes, rattles and rolls across the palate with amazingly thick, juicy, massively muscled yet satin smooth qualities, suggesting smoke, scrubby herbs and wild black fruits. This is the most intense of the contemporary-style reds coming out of Argentina today; and perhaps a harbinger of other great malbec-based wines to come — from not only Argentina, but also from the United States, as well as some of the forgotten pockets of France. Fingers are crossed.

Villa di Capezzana, Carmignano (Tuscany, Italy) — Somewhere along the line, someone decided that all Tuscan red wines made from sangiovese and cabernet sauvignon must be "Super Tuscan" — hence, selling for $50 or $100. This is too bad, because although these grapes go perfectly well together, the cost of production does not necessarily need to go through the roof.

In Carmignano, a small pocket of Tuscany northeast of the Chianti Classico area, growers have been specializing in sangiovese blended with small measures of cabernet sauvignon since the 19th century. Carmignano may not be as sexy as Sassicaia and Ornellaia, but it tastes of plump cherries, licorice, and smoky leaves, as soft, dense, smooth, and inviting as slowly rising bread — all for under $20. Now, if we can only see more of this from Italy and the rest of the world.

Ferrari-Carano, Sonoma "Siena" (California) — Winemaker George Bursick has been perfecting this sangiovese-based red — usually blended with cabernet sauvignon, and occasionally malbec and merlot — through most of the '90s.

It completely smashes a prevailing thought from many wine geeks and critics: that Californians have no business trying to grow sangiovese.

How can you argue with a wine so deep, round and intense? It combines a velvety smooth, easy feel with dense, smoky red cherryish concentration, backed up by exotic, almost black licorice nuances. This is a seamless "food wine," which is no insult to its singular refinement. But you certainly cannot go wrong with a wine that effortlessly improves everything from fish to meat, and rice to pasta dishes. I only wish it was so easy for most other reds.

Randal Caparoso is an independent wine consultant. His column appears in the Taste section every other week.