Tablas Creek joins UC Davis in Rhone project

Wines & Vines, July, 2005 by Larry Walker

California's Rhone Rangers will have access to all 13 permitted varietals from Chateauneuf du Pape, thanks to a project co-founded by Chateauneuf de Beaucastel and Tablas Creek Vineyard on California's Central Coast. Working with Foundation Plant Services (FPS) at UC Davis, the project is bringing in clones of all the grape varieties, which will later be made commercially available, according to Deborah Golino, director of FPS.

Tablas Creek is owned by the Perin family, proprietors of Beaucastel, and Robert Haas, an importer and founder of Vineyard Brands. Haas and the Perin family created Tablas Creek in 1987, and the winery has become internationally recognized for its Rhone-style wines based on Chateauneuf varietals.

The first varieties brought to California were Grenache Noir, Mourvedre, Syrah, Counoise, Roussanne, Marsanne and Grenache Blanc. Under an agreement reached last year, the remaining varietals--Cinsaut, Clairette, Terret Noir, Muscardin, Vaccarese, Bourbelenc and Picardan--will be made available in the next few years. (Some count Grenache Blanc and Grenache Noir as one variety, which is how they arrive at 13 rather than the perhaps more accurate 14.)

Golino said she was especially excited about the Rhone materials. Don't place your orders yet, however. "These selections are from French vineyards (rather than another clean stock program), so they will likely need virus therapy. It could be five or six years before they are commercially available, although we did start presumptive tissue culture therapy already, so I'm hoping we can reduce that to three or four years," Golino said by e-mail.

She added, "This collection includes some varieties from Southern France that are not yet present in the U.S.

We have hopes that they will add to the diversity of choices available to winemakers for both blends and varietal wines. Because they are from a warm part of France, we have hopes they will produce high quality fruit in some parts of California that are not so suited to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, as well as other varieties."

Golino added that bringing in new varieties and selection is a core mission of FPS, a self-supporting service department in the College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences at UC Davis which produces, tests, maintains and distributes premium foundation level virus- and disease-tested plant materials for use by California nurseries. It is also the home of the nation's only dedicated grape importation facility, processing grape selections through quarantine for evaluation and use.

At Tablas Creek, 4 acres have been set aside as increase blocks for the varietals when they are released from quarantine. According to Haas, the vines are some of the oldest Languedoc and southern Rhone varieties.

Red grape varieties currently available in the collection include:

* Mourvedre, which historically was the most widely planted grape in the southern Rhone before phylloxera hit that region in the late 1800s. It provides good structure in blends, and is thought to increase aging potential.

* Syrah, best known from the northern Rhone, especially in the Hermitage and Cote-Rotie appellations, is a very flexible wine. It may be better known to many consumers today as Shiraz, the name used in the fruit-forward, easy-drinking Australian bottlings.

* Grenache remains the most widely planted grape in the Rhone Valley. If tonnage is restricted, it produces wines of great depth and longevity.

* Counoise is one of the lesser-known Rhones. It has soft tannins with good fruit and spice, and is considered in the Rhone to work well with more tannic varieties such as Syrah. It was first brought into the U.S. by Tablas Creek and recognized as a varietal by the BATF (now TTB) in 2000.

White varieties include:

* Roussanne--sometimes confused with Viognier, another Rhone varietal available at Tablas Creek--produces whites of reasonable acidity with good aging potential.

* Grenache Blanc is the fourth most widely planted white winegrape in France. Tablas Creek was the first to import the grape in the U.S., and it was recognized by the BATF in 2003.

* Marsanne is often blended with Roussanne. Wines made from Marsanne tend to pick up a minerally character from the site, leading many producers to believe it is important in reflecting terroir.

The varieties yet to be released for public use include:

* Bourbelenc, an ancient white grape, perhaps originating in Greece, according to Jancis Robinson. It is grown in the southern Rhone and Languedoc, and is important in the blend of white Minervois and Corbieres blanc. Bourbelenc is sometimes called Malvoisie in Languedoc, leading to some confusion. (FPS is in the process of creating an index to every winegrape name in the world and the synonyms. It should be ready in the winter of 2006.)

* Cinsaut, sometimes spelled Cinsault, is a red grape variety grown extensively in Languedoc. It has similar qualities to Grenache, although it tends to be softer and more aromatic. It makes excellent rose.