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Feature Article
Temecula Valley:
The Southland is on the Rise Again
Temecula Valley produces some of the best wines in California. Yes, the little valley near San Diego is giving Napa Valley a run for its money - at least in the awards division.
by Clark Smith
August 24, 2009
As the California State Fair announced its Varietal Best of Class and Sweepstakes Best of Show awards for 2009, not a single Napa wine was listed. What region garnered the most medals? That would be the Temecula Valley. A secret renaissance is taking place among the thirty-nine producers who call “land of the Rainbow Gap” home. Time to write the sequel to the well known tale of Eli Callaway’s 1969 gamble, which improbably established this ocean-cooled high desert as a tourist Mecca and affordable white wine source.
s unlikely a place for premium wine production as one could imagine, this high plain of Temecula Valley within spitting distance of Mexico owes its fortunes to the natural daily air conditioning which occurs when hot air rising off Palm Desert to the east sucks cool Pacific breezes through the Marguerita and Deluz Passes in the coastal mountains, bathing the 1,100 foot Valley floor in moderating temperatures which preserve acidity and prevent fruity aromas from boiling off.
At the time, land in this remote corner was cheap, and the Valley floor’s loamy decomposed granites were perfect for soft, easy drinking wines with flowery aromatics and palate finesse. Coastal quality at Central Valley economies, together with proximity
to the large Southern California marketplace, afforded a huge competitive edge, and the profitable tasting room sales bolstered the prospects of small winery neighbors, who sprouted by the dozens.
It was realized early on that the region was poorly suited to blockbuster chards, but because mature fruit aromas emerge early, the region’s strength is in delicate, moderate alcohol wines with good acidity. Callaway’s prosperity attracted some twenty other wineries and millions of tourists annually, while large volumes of Calla-lees , a yeast-aged stainless chardonnay, dominated the L.A. grocery shelves of the ‘80’s at affordable prices. But a decade later, this success contained the seeds of its own demise.
Temecula’s popularity as a respite from the heat, smog and rat race of the Los Angeles Basin bred a new threat -- urban encroachment. Some of the tourists decided to put down roots of their own, driving up land prices, thus leveling the economic playing field with the likes of Sonoma. The days of affordable whites were drawing to a close. Then in the ‘90’s, almost half the acreage was wiped out by Pierce’s disease, and a quarantine requiring all grapes in the region to be juiced locally put an instant kibosh on grape sales to the North Coast. It looked like Callaway’s dream was a flash in the pan.
But these disasters had their own silver lining. Like the Allied bombing of Germany, which razed antiquated structures and cleared the way for the post-WWII industrial boom, the duel scourges of housing development and Pierce’s forced replanting the Valley floor to more suitable varietals and improved trellising systems. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot were replaced by Syrah, Grenache and other Rhone varietals, and by Sangiovese, Zinfandel, Tempranillo and (of all things) Cabernet Franc, all of which had been shown to do well.
Both geographically and economically, local winemakers were forced to higher country. They needed to find land where vineyards made more sense than houses. They also
needed to move up the price ladder, to play to win with the big dogs in the ultra-premium segments above $20. These two movements turned out to be wonderfully synergistic.
Rocky, inaccessible ridge tops at 2500 feet that would never have made sense for cheap chardonnay turned out to be just the thing for serious reds, particularly Rhone and Italian varietals. Even as Callaway’s new owners, Allied Domecq, sold 300 Valley floor acres to developers, pioneer South Coast Winery established Wild Horse Peak as a preeminent spot for Syrah and Sangiovese. Here the combination of bright UV and alluvial washes of volcanic ash on granite bedrock result in intense color and very hard tannins, perfect for world class styles if handled with skill.
Straight Shootin’ Son of a Gun
We signed up Jon McPherson, the lanky, carrot top winemaker for South Coast, as our Regional Advocate. Despite his cowboy West Texas drawl and aw-shucks demeanor, this twenty-four year fixture in Temecula has earned wide respect for his ability to put
Jon McPherson (right) flanked by South Coast winemaker Javier Flores
photo courtesy South Coast Winery
“After four decades, Temecula has now moved beyond the experimental stage,” says McPherson. “We’ve dialed in what grows best where, and we’ve developed the styles we want to be known for. We are striving now to be consistent vintage to vintage.”
If McPherson’s wines seem over-represented in our Best-of-Appellation™ list, it’s only because their overall quality gave our panel no choice. But Jonny isn’t Temecula’s only superstar, as witness Joe Hart’s Double Gold sweep for every wine he submitted. And the great showing across the board for Sangiovese, Zinfandel, Tempranillo and Cab Franc is enough to convince any skeptic of the region’s value for these varietals.
The Envelope, Please…
Sauvignon Blanc is a natural for the area, exhibiting perfumey rose and grapefruit/lime aromas with complex elements of herbal nettle and tarragon, and managing in the mouth to be both delicate and lush by virtue of surprisingly good acidity. In the Fresh Style we selected:
Falkner Winery Sauvignon Blanc Estate 2007
Hart Winery Sauvignon Blanc 2008
Keyways Sauvignon Blanc 2008
In the Oaked Fumé Style, toasted almond, smoke and vanilla are added to this aromatic profile and the mouth is richer and rounder:
Briar Rose Winery Fumé Blanc 2008
Viognier is one of the State’s most charming examples, with great acidity and never hot or cloying. One can look forward to very complex aromatics: rosewater, white peach, green olive, honey, brown sugar, coriander, lavender, summer rain petrichor, aromatic cedar.
Wilson Creek Winery 2008
La Cereza 2008
Temecula Hills Winery 2008
South Coast Winery 2007
Vindemia 2005
Grenache is made by one winery into a Biodynamic Dry Rosé Style in a malolactic-positive, mature style which can sub for a red wine on a hot day:
Wilson Creek Winery Grenache Rosé 2008
As a Full-Flavored Red Style, aromatics run to rosewater, plum, strawberry and dried grass, and rich plum jam flavors with moderate tannins are often accompanied by substantial alcohol:
Hart Winery Grenache 2006
Zinfandel has long been purchased from very old vines in neighboring Cucamonga and still can be found in local wineries’ offerings. The local fruit, however, is not to be scorned, and yields serious wines with surprising color depth, exotic aromas of cherry, wild berries, tamarind, coconut, toffee, cardamom and sage, and a palate of concentrated berry fruit, together with such nuances as licorice, cedar, sage, thyme and lemon, with firm but manageable tannins:
Oak Mountain Winery 2005
Oak Mountain Winery 2006 Estate
Ponte Family Estate Winery 2007
Briar Rose Winery 2007 Estate
Vindemia 2007
Tempranillo has also shown considerable worth in the area for production of feminine, Full-Flavored, Exotic Style wines of good complexity, and can be expected typically to offer aromas of violets, black cherry, black pepper, licorice, bay leaf, and marmite, with excellent palate balance, good energy, and flavors including a characteristic lemon juice together with more expected plum jam and dried blueberry, packaged with moderate, well-formed tannins:
Hart Winery Young Pio Vnyd 2005
Temecula Hills Winery 2006
South Coast Winery 2007
Cabernet Franc, unlike its Bordeaux relatives, does extremely well here, producing a Delicate Aromatic Style serving up aromas of plum, rosewater, chamomile, arnica, cumin, cardamom, Asian spice, mint, sage, Meyer lemon and toffee. In the mouth we again find that delicate, mature sweet lemony fruit along with very spicy, bright flavors, such as dried blueberry, energetic with good density and excellent minerality:
Oak Mountain Winery Estate 2006
Oak Mountain Winery 2005
Hart Winery Hart family Vineyard 2005
La Cereza 2005
Briar Rose Winery 2005
Palumbo Winery 2005
Leonesse Cellars 2006 (Cab Franc-Merlot)
Sangiovese comes off consistently better here than any other region we have surveyed in California. It expresses itself in very serious tannins and exotic aromas of black cherry and orange peel, with undertones of Asian spices, leather, bacon and white pepper.
We found two styles. In the Collectible Style profile, with restrained alcohol and ageworthy structure were:
South Coast Winery 2001 Wild Horse Peak Mountain Vineyard
South Coast Winery 2004 Wild Horse Peak Mountain Vineyard
South Coast Winery 2005 Wild Horse Peak Mountain Vineyard
Briar Rose Winery 2005
Thornton Winery 2005
Temecula Hills Winery & Vineyard 2005 Estate
In the Impact Style, extended hangtime is employed to produce explosive fruit, heady alcohol and full, grippy tannins, set off by lavish oak:
Palumbo Family Vineyards and Winery 2006 Estate
Syrah is perhaps the variety which represents the area’s most stunning achievements. Do I strike you as a guy who needs to buy his own wine? And yet I buy these. They tend to be inky black in color, yet with bright aromas of lemon, currant jam, strawberry, lavender, white pepper, mustard and dried orange peel, licorice, leather, roast nuts, and coffee. Varying in tannin level from massive wines grown at higher altitude to drinkable ones on the valley floor at 1100 feet, they still comprise a unified style which style can be depended on for a round, fleshy palate impression, generous flavors of plum jam, blueberry pie and nectarine with well integrated toffee, lively spice and other oak elements:
South Coast Winery 2006 South Coast
Hart Winery Hart family Vineyard 2006
Falkner Winery Rock Creek Vnyd 2005
Palumbo Winery 2006
Temecula Hills Winery 2006
Leonesse Cellars 2006 "Vineyard Select"
Leonesse Cellars 2006 "Signature selection"
Vindemia Rolling Hills vnyd 2004
Turn On the Bubble Machine
Temecula’s biggest surprise for wine lovers is its suitability for sparkling wines. The combination of cool growing conditions and bright light works as it does at higher latitudes, to bring out complex, exotic aromatics while retaining good acidity.
In a bizarre twist, Jonny Back-to-Back, who most folks figure knows what he’s doing, has shifted away from his decade of experience in Methode Champenoise at Culbertson/Thornton in favor of the bulk charmat process, following suit with the world’s leader in sparkling muscats, Asti Spumante. “I want the fruit to show in my wines,” declares McPherson. “There’s lots of problems with in-bottle fermentation that people don’t talk about. We aren’t like France, where they need to mask that biting acidity and supplement the aromatics of under-ripe, under-flavored fruit.”
“Time en triage can add yeasty characters that aren’t pretty in fruit-driven, aromatic sparklers. We’ve got good acid balance and nice, fruity aromas I want to show off. Plus we get a lot less bottle variation from the tank fermentation process. Also, we can use our natural sugar (from the grapes at harvest) instead of adding more, for the secondary and the actual finish RS, because in tank, we can start and stop fermentation easily. That’s too risky for the in-bottle process. This strategy lets us get our muscat and gewurz riper and richer without boosting the alcohol.”
We found South Coast’s offerings delightful – fresh and straightforward without being simple, and on a par with the State’s best bubbly. The following were named to BOA status:
South Coast “Ruby Cuvee” NV Sparkling Syrah
South Coast Sparkling NV Extra Dry
South Coast Sparkling NV Gewurztraminer
South Coast 2007 “Blanc de Blanc” Sparkling Chardonnay
South Coast Sparkling NV Brut
Saluting the South
Does Napa’s poor showing at the State Fair mean they’ve lost their edge? Not really. Most Napa wineries simply won’t enter competitions for fear they’ll only garner a Silver Medal, a PR disaster at the prices they charge. Unlike boxing, the champ isn’t required to take on contenders.
But our tastings show clearly that Temecula’s new reds are serious stuff. Forty years of experimentation have yielded impressive results, and for the varieties that work, the land of the Rainbow Gap is now receiving much deserved limelight.
Photos courtesy of Temecula Valley Winegrowers Assoc.
