paso robles

A FRESH TAKE ON PASO WHITE: FAVORITE NEIGHBOR CHARDONNAY

The back story here is worth knowing. The property was assembled by two orphaned brothers, Dick and Claude Booker, back in the ‘20s. Over the decades their property grew to nearly 1200 acres of land which they ultimately left to charity on their passing. They were exceptional farmers and humanitarians. Eric and Lisa Jensen acquired a 100 acre parcel of the estate in 2001. Eric learned the ropes working with Justin Smith (Saxum) and Stephan Asseo (L’Aventure). In 2005 Jensen launched his own winery which he named for the brothers, Booker. This producer has been pretty much a juggernaut since its inception. Booker Syrahs and Rhone Blends moved into the spotlight almost from the outset.

Their own words define the ongoing vision of the estate, “Booker is dedicated to the pursuit of farming perfection, constantly striving to find the perfect balance in the vineyard through certified organic farming practices as well as methods that draw inspiration from biodynamics. The westside of Paso Robles terroir is unique, boasting extreme vertical slopes and calcareous soils. Limestone beds with very little water make it hard to believe that anything could grow, yet the Booker estate produces some of the greatest wine grapes on earth.”.

They eventually they decided to add to the portfolio by creating an adjunct label which was originally marketed un the Booker banner, using their relationships, particularly that with Asseo as the inspiration for the new name, My Favorite Neighbor. It didn’t stop there as Jensen went on to create another label in honor of his parents who, in his words, “loved wine, but in today’s world, couldn’t have afforded a quality bottle.” Harvey and Harriet is the brand.

The reach for quality grapes has spread beyond the confines of Jensen’s estate to include other like-minded growers for additional fruit, organics and biodynamics being the words of the day every day. Everything is made at the solar powered winery at Booker. Even the purchase by mega corporation Constellation hasn’t changed the mantra…yet. What they have done is give each of the labels more or less their own stage and, while you can get info on each of them from the same website, they don’t use the Booker name on the other wines any more. They also probably had a hand in creating a white wine program though, clearly from the results, Jensen’s philosophy inspired the tasty, unique new lineup of whites.

Some might think California doesn’t need another Chardonnay, but the My Favorite Neighbor Blanc Chardonnay 2021 is expansive, palate coating efforts that has its own unique personality. Sure it’s ripe and layered. But it also boasts elements that one might associate with a something white from the northern Rhone. There’s spice, tropical notes, baked apple, and a richness to the fruit that some might confuse with sweetness. In any case this is a very likeable, maybe even a little exotic wine that lovers of big, bold domestic Chardonnay should embrace.

Erin Brook of robertparker.com liked it too, “The 2021 MFN Blanc Chardonnay is very ripe in style with scents of banana chip, apple pie, jasmine, allspice and brown sugar. The full-bodied palate is packed with ripe, spicy fruits and plenty of refreshing acidity, and it finishes long with a satiny, mouth-coating texture. It’s an old-school style reminiscent of Napa that fans of ripe, oaked Chardonnays will enjoy…97 points.”

RARE ‘LOCAL’ VIOGNIER VALUE

As we have said many times, Viognier is a cruel mistress to begin with, particularly here in California. There is a magic place where there’s just the right touch of acidity supporting expressive, layered, highly spiced, fleshy fruit. But most of the time, the varietal fails to hit that mark, either falling lean and short on the fruit end or, more often, coming out a flabby mass of overripe, directionless fruit. In all fairness to the winemakers, hitting that narrow ‘sweet spot’ in the varietal profile is extremely difficult. But when it does, it is a special treat.

If you had told us that one of the most striking Viognier buys to come along from California in many years came from Paso Robles, we ‘d have had a hard time believing it. But the proof was in the glass. The San Simeon Viognier Stefano Vineyard 2018 delivered beautifully nuanced, classically varietal, even bright varietal fruit. The nose was subtly infused with that floral, honeysuckle, and peach character that we associate with top flight efforts of this varietal from the northern Rhone. The fruit is tender and round, but has the required ‘sizzle’ to deliver that special character that makes people fans of the varietal in the first place.

A good part of the game here is location. The Stefano Vineyard is located in the El Pomar District AVA of Paso Robles. Yeah, it’s warm here, but there is great maritime influence via the cool afternoon breezes from the Templeton Gap. The area’s Arbuckle-Positas soils are filled with multicolored rocks of all shapes and sizes and there are steep hillsides that naturally control vine vigor. During 2018, the weather was ideal with a long growing season that provided great “hang time” for the grapes. That allows the flavors to develop slowly and steadily while maintaining the tension in the juice to keep everything lifted. It all came together in 2018.

The juice is fermented in stainless steel tanks at 55˚ F for several weeks. The long, cold fermentation process preserves the delicate flavors and aromas of this variety. Immediately after the fermentation, 12% of the wine was transferred

to neutral French oak barrels in which the lees were stirred for several months to add texture and depth. The result is this personality-filled, unfettered, expressive, unpretentiously joyful white.

Since we decided we were going to promote this tasty example, we jumped into our usual research. We were a little surprised to find a 92 point score from Wine Spectator only because Wine Spectator typically doesn’t hand out scores like that on domestic Viogniers (Sauvignon Blancs also have a upper limit on scores but that’s another story). We set our Spectator ratings query at ‘Viogniers that got 92 point scores and cost less than $30 over the last three years’. There were three…this one, one from Alban, and a French Collines Rhodaniennes from the Northern Rhone.

When we narrowed the Spectator search to the last 12 months, the San Simeon Viognier was an ‘army of one’. How’s that for rarity? The words were inviting as well as Spectator clearly had the same impression we did. They wrote, “Powerful and elegant, featuring peach cobbler, ripe melon and dried apricot flavors that are rich and concentrated, set on a light and lithe frame, with bright and juicy acidity. Finishes with details of white flowers. Drink now.”

We’re all about that last part, ‘drink now’. This is bright enough to enjoy with the lighter fare of the season or entertain a broad audience as an aperitif all by itself. For our part, with a little help from the current times, we were able to work a bit with the $24 list price. Like we said, it’s hard enough to find a really engaging Viognier at all, let alone for less than $15!

DELICIOUS HOMMAGE TO PARENTS FROM BOOKER

So if you are old enough to think this name is familiar, you might be thinking of the old TV show Ozzie and Harriet. This is a completely different thing courtesy of Booker vineyards and the intense and focused ‘mind behind’ the project, Eric Jensen. His Syrah bottlings have achieved legend status but this bottling is virtually unknown because, well, it’s brand new.

Imagine a ‘Super Paso’ kind of blend that is a fine extension of the big volume, rich, creamy style that has been the hallmark of the Booker Syrahs infused into this sexy blend. Jensen’s own parents serve as the inspiration for Harvey & Harriet, represented in two hand-holding silhouettes always balancing on the tightrope of life, adorned with the inscription “Everyone’s favorite neighbors. Or not.”

This is a fabulous showpiece for the ‘Paso style’…super plush palate bordering on sur-maturite fruit but with just the right lift to make it pleasingly juicy and palate-caressing. There is richness, plush character, surprising freshness to the layered, ripe fruit. This is pure Paso at its most compelling. Booker is uber famous in some circles, as we said earlier, for it’s Syrah based wines. But this new assemblage tends to reach into a different realm.

The blend of 74% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Syrah, 5% Petit Verdot, and 4% Malbec could have easily been labeled as Cabernet as it would be virtually impossible to detect that one percent missing in the blend. It would certainly have been easier to sell the wine as a new “Cabernet” from Booker. But, to their credit, that is not how these folks roll. They put all of their effort into perfectly ripe fruit and called it as it was.

That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy this as you would a Cabernet. The touch of blackberry and smoked meats in the finish comes from the Syrah but adds dimension to the wine. The rest plays like an elite, polished Cabrnet from Paso with primarily dark cherry fruit laced with subtle minerality. We have been surprised how many California Cabernet producers have been routinely slipping a little Syrah into the mix. The ‘official’ name of the wine is Booker ‘My Favorite Neighbor’ Harvey & Harriet Paso Robles Red Blend 2017. The name is a little hard to digest and one would be understandably hard-pressed to dive into this with such a non-descript ‘handle’. But this is, in fact, a greatly engaging ‘Cabernet’ and Paso experience all rolled into one.

You can pay more for something like Daou, which gets pretty rave reviews from the press. But to us this wine has more soul, depth, and a very comfortable flavor and style profile. There is a little bit of confusion as the winery has made wines carrying the ‘My Favorite Neighbor’ label for a while (we have Advocate reviews dating back to 2006). But Harvey & Harriet, specifically dedicated to Eric Jensen’s parents, is a new chapter in the series.

There’s not a lot of ink on this newcomer, but clearly Jeb Dunnuck shared our enthusiasm in a barrel review he posted on the wine in November, 2018, “Named after Eric Jenson’s parents, the 2017 Harvey and Harriet is another outstanding wine in the making…It boasts lots of blue fruits, graphite, violets, and classy oak as well as a big, full-bodied yet rockingly balanced style on the palate. It has classic Jenson style and is going to drink nicely right out of the gate…92-94 points.” That it does.