I got involved in the Wine World around 1997. Living in Louisiana, that translates to being at least five years behind the curve of trends and new stuff in general, customers didn’t know anything about the SBC, Monterrey, etc, regions. I mean, maybe a couple of folks had been to the West Coast, and they were familiar with Jim Clendenen and the enclave with Bob Lindquist and Lane Tanner…
Carneros was THE spot for Pinot Noir as far as anyone was concerned. Our store owner had a picture of Robert Stemmler with him in the back office, and the Saintsbury Pinot Noir was our top wine.
Occasionally, I could talk a customer into a bottle of a Sanford Single-vineyard “Sanford & Benedict” or “La Riconanda” Pinot, but most were restricted to Carneros. We didn’t even have any ABC until around 2003, and it was the Chardonnay.
What is my point? Well, aside from the fact that old habits die hard and that I live in a cultural “bubble”, what was so endearing about Carneros to begin with, and why is it now considered poo poo?
I noticed that, too - Carneros is not at all considered a great place for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, it seems, but was so highly regarded in the late 90’s. I wonder if it’s a weather factor, that there have been too many warm vintages?
People discovered (painfully) that much of the Napa Valley was too hot for pinot. Carneros was on the SF Bay and was cooler. Plus, it was undeveloped land – mostly grazing land – in the 80s. So people flocked there to plant pinot and chardonnay in the 80s and 90s.
I haven’t followed it much, to be honest, but I’m not sure it ever produced any particularly outstanding pinots. I think the focus on to the Russian River Valley or the Central Coast (for richer styled wines), or to cooler climates close to the coast in Sonoma and Mendocino.
I think the issue with Carneros is that where the soils are good, the climate is a hair too warm, and where the climate is just right, the soils are mostly clay-rich alluvium.
I should add, though, that there is still plenty of world-class Chardonnay coming from Carneros. Hyde Vineyard, Hudson Vineyard, etc. I’ve never had a Pinot from Hyde but I’ve heard it can hold its own with Pinot from anywhere in CA.
John Paul of Cameron winery started out there in the 80s and realized that he could never make truly great Pinot noir there (his words), and headed for Oregon.
My following remarks are more accurately described as a report on the thoughts of others than my own:
I just read a Jim Laube opinion piece on Carneros (Wine Spectator , May 15, 1994) entitled "What Lies Ahead for Carneros?"
He credits, at that point of time, the relative disappointing consistency of the Carneros region to a cool, windy climate that straddles the border between under ripe and ripe levels for grapes. Of course exceptions are cited but, for the most part, the Chardonnays and Pinots are just not reliably delivering the goods.
While those are his thoughts, I wonder how many people today assert that the same traits that Mr Laube assigns as a weakness for Carneros as desirable attributes in modern vineyard site selection.
Recently, Matt Kramer (for one) stated that the climatic fringes of successful grape growing are critical for creating great wines. Certain examples, including Sonoma Coast, Western SBC, Anderson Valley, were named in his piece “Not a Sure Thing” (WS, March 15, 2016). While he also explored winemaking practices in his essay, my concern is in respect to the coolness factor.
Is Carneros just too large of an AVA to serve its purpose? Has its drop in esteem been a result of too many poorly chosen planting locations, or was it never the promised land it once was thought to be?
I’ve wondered this in the last decade or so as well. I don’t find that pinot and chardonnay from Carneros does much for me, with a few exceptions here and there, and even those tend to be more ripe and heavy than I prefer in California pinot and chardonnay. And then they usually carry the high Napa price tag with them.
The other thing is that I perceive that most Carneros wines are the lower-priority offering from wineries who specialize in other things, usually cab and merlot. So your big napa cab houses will round out their set of offerings with a Carneros pinot and/or a Carneros chardonnay, but it’s really not their strong suit or their calling card. So think a lot of Carneros pinot is your Robert Mondavi, BV, Clos du Val, Cakebread, Domaine Chandon, etc.
Having said that, I’ve pretty much stopped looking for or buying Carneros wines in the last decade or so, maybe I’m missing out on something worthwhile.
Hate to generalize(but I’m about to), Pinot Noir is the only grape I was never thrilled about in California. Whether it’s the soil, climate, winemaker or a combination, just never did it for me like the French do. And I’m saying that as a California only buying folk. Maybe that’s why Manfred stropped trying a number of years ago. If he can’t do it, nobody can…
There are certainly great wines from Carneros. I have enjoyed Syrah from Hyde and Hudson, Truchard Chardonnay, and Saintsbury PN (back in the day). The fact that Biale makes a vineyard-designated Zin, and MTP/Havens sourced Spanish white variety grapes from this area seems to add fuel to the idea that the area is just too large, and that every stinkin’ acre of an AVA needn’t be planted.
Primarily, my question is how has the perception of Carneros changed? Why did it change? What is the lesson (if there is one) to take away from the descent of Carneros’ image as prime Chardonnay/PN territory?
For comparison: Carneros = wind, Russian River Valley = fog
Carneros was THE place for Chard and Pinot before anybody thought much about the Russian River Valley or the Central Coast ava’s.
I think it’s gotten to be more of a style preference, honestly, as RRV Pinot has the bright red fruits most like. Carneros is more dusty/earthy cranberry. Don’t have enough experience comparing the two for Chard.
Have had some decent Merlot from Carneros.
In the 60’s, I used to drive out through Carneros to the Naval Station at Skaggs Island. It was all cattle ranches and hay fields. Windy almost always, but days with fog or sunshine and it could get real hot with large temperature swings. I think the assessment of cheap, treeless, open land available was the draw for wine grapes.
I also think weather conditions and winemaking make Carneros comparable to sections of Oregon where rainy weather delivered austere wines and hot weather delivered fruit forward, bigger wines. From there, it’s palate preference. I prefer hot year Pinots from Oregon and certain wine makers’ style of bigger Carneros Pinots. Paul Hobbs can make a Carneros Pinot as big as the RRV Pinots. It might just more work to do it. Macario Montoya has made consistently excellent Carneros Pinots, so I know it can be done.
Unfortunately, Chardonnay may be problematic. I have a friend who owns a few acres of Chard in Carneros. The winery he had a contract with dumped him in 2006, right around harvest. He couldn’t find a buyer for the grapes that year. The next year he got half as much per ton and had to drop two tons an acre to meet the buyers demands.
