TN: BonnyDoon LeCigareVolant CentralCoast '19...(short/boring)

The new Cigare showed up at ArroyoVino at a suspiciously low price:

  1. BonnyDoonVnyd LeCigareVolant CentralCoast (56% Grenache/30% Cinsault/13% Syrah/1% PetiteSirah; 13.5%; www.BonnyDoonVineyard.com) KingCity 2019: Med.color; rather fragrant/bit strawberry/Grenache quite herbal rather vegetal (canned green beans) fairly earthy/loamy somewhat rustic quite MontereyCnty herbal unattractive nose; some tart quite herbal/vegetal/MontereyCnty somewhat sharp/shrill light strawberry/Grenache somewhat earthy/loamy flavor w/ light tangy/bitey tannins; long quite herbal/vegetal/MontereyCnty/earthy/loamy some canned green beans slight strawberry/Grenache finish w/ some sharp/bitey tannins; obviously vastly different sources from previous LCV; lacks any high-toned perfume of quality Grenache fruit; a shame on a once proud label. $23.00 (AV)

A wee BloodyPulpit:

  1. Several yrs ago RandallGrahm sold off BonnyDoon to a marketing outfit by the name of WarRoom LLC. He pledged to remain on as consulting winemaker, along w/ Nicole Walsh, whom I respect for her wines under the Ser label. So I was not expecting any big changes in the wine.
    I have followed the LCV label from the very start, with its launch with the 1984 label. It has never been a profound CdP blend to me, but generally quite nice and often aged into something interesting. Its price escalated up into the $40-$50 price range, which I thought was pricey for what it was.
    So I was surprised to see it at this $23/btl price point. Suspiciously low. Once I tasted it, I now realized this once proud label has moved into the commodity market. Will probably soon be all over the TraderJoe’s shelves. It was made at a custom-crush facility in KingCity, probably Delicato Wines. It doesn’t even taste like a basic commodity wine in that it has a pretty strong character of MontereyCnty, rather than bland/simple commodity wine. Easily the worst LCV ever made in its history. I’m shocked that Randall&Nicole would let this be released…but they may have no say-so.
    LeCigareVolant…RIP…we once loved you, mostly for the whimsical label.
    Tom
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Thanks Tom for bringing up fond memories of yesteryear, 80s-90s, when LeCigare Volant was one of my special wines I saved for occasions requiring a deviation from the norms of Chard, Pinot and Cab. I miss the fun and always festive interplay with Randall and his wittiness as well as his lineup of “deviated” wines. Sorry to hear an old treasure has been devalued and perhaps fools gold.

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Tried this a couple of months back and had the same reaction. Glad I only paid $15 at Costco.

I do plan on giving the rose and white a taste but only if at a reasonable priced.

I love the Ser wines and also the Birichino wines from another Bonny Doon alumni John Locke and his partner. These wines are much more in the spirit of Randall’s early efforts.

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Well, this is…awkward. I do not recall ever having read a tasting note like this from you, Tom.

Mr Grahm’s idiosyncratic marketing strategies (“Da Vino Commedia”, anyone?), his pseudoscientific theories on terroir, and his general revulsion of Zinfandel (even while pitching his own varietal bottling) have divided wine afficionados for over three decades. Nevertheless, his quirky, creative, controversial ways were endearing to me.

Bonny Doon Vineyard’s glacial march towards commodification resembles something from a sci-fi movie - a spaceship drawn into a black hole, its occupants becoming subject to face-blurring time distortion. I truly hope he finds success with his Popelouchum Vineyard project.


Good Times
“Bonny Doon Vineyard’s Le Cigare Volant Gets Dramatic Makeover”
by Christina Waters
October 30, 2018

"…Well, after 30 years of the ‘Cigare’, Grahm has announced a major change of style. This paradigm shift is being enacted in order to appeal to younger wine drinkers, those for whom the entire concept of letting a vintage age is unthinkable. In the Twitter era aging can amount to a matter of days. Even hours.

“Ergo, the new 2018 incarnation of ‘Le Cigare Volant’, scheduled for release in June 2019, is composed of a whopping 75 percent of Cinsault and 25 percent Syrah (No Grenache!). The original ‘Cigare’ was built for longevity and usually had a price tag to match. The longer it takes to get a bottle of wine to market, the more costly the product. Which is why for a generation raised on social media, there’s beer. Eight days, versus five years. You can do that math…”.


I never bought as much “Le Cigare Volant” as I intended. I did consume lots of Bonny Doon’s “Old Telegram” Contra Costa Mataro back in my retail days. That wine’s final vintage has passed, sadly.

Perhaps Mr Grahm’s greatest work (so far) was introducing consumers to California’s old-growth vineyards and Rhône varieties.

The heart - the true legacy - of Bonny Doon Vineyards continues to beat through the wine professionals who got their start (or refined their art) in the winery’s cellar.



Yumpu online reader
Da Vino Commedia: Vinferno

Well, Drew…I calls 'em as I see’s 'em. It’s like seeing that cute little cheerleader you had the hots for in HS out on the streets hooking at age 40. Makes you feel kinda sad. But it’s life. I take no joy in trashing an old…errr… long-time Friend, but so it is.
Randall is an extremely bright guy who I love dearly. We’ve not heard the last word from him I suspect. He, like Brittany Spears, is someone who I’d love to sit down with & talk about the ins & outs of quantum mechanics!!
Tom

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Probably machine harvested fruit from ordinary vineyard sources.

More like Bonny Doom.

Tom, how would you describe Monterey County characteristics? (serious question)

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Last fall I had a single bottle of 2018 Le Cigare Volant. Don’t remember it being anything mind bending. Only an easy drinking Rhone blend. But, there are notes on CT that are pretty glowing for this vintage. Is the 2018 Randall’s last as owner or first as consultant?

I remember taking a drive to the tasting room in 95 and picking up a Cigare Volant tee shirt. At that time there seemed to be a lot of buzz surrounding Bonny Doon and Graham.

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His sale last year was epic - very glad I picked up several cases. All have been very enjoyable. It was my first experience with LCV white reserve and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Still have a few bottles (2013?) and all have held up well.

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I’ll try for a serious answer, Marc.
Back in the '70’s, when there was a lot of expansion into MontereyCnty because of rapidly rising land prices up in
SantaClaraCnty around SanJose, the wines were pretty much atrocious. What was then called the “Monterey Veggies”.
Smelled & tasted of vegetable/canned aspargras/canned green beans. When they were planted down there in the SalinasVlly,
they looked at what Region # it was & felt it was appropriate place. What the Region # doesn’t account for is the ferocious winds
you can get daily running down the SalinasVlly, which makes it a (much) colder region than the Region # would suggest. Plus, because
the water was plentiful, they were irrigating the hell out of the vnyds so the growth was very lush and taking yields up in the 6-10 tons/acre
range. So most of the wines had a strong vegetal component. Can you say Mirassou Cabernet??
But by the mid-'80’s, they learned how to farm the grapes in the SalinasVlly. Doug Meador was the primary one responsible. And they Monterey Veggies
largely became a thing of the past. At least on the extreme end.
Still, you can find some of that vegetal/herbal character in some Monterey reds. Almost never in reds from the reds up on the Chalone Benchland. You can still
get just hints of it on reds (Pinot/Syrah) grown in the SantaLucia Highlands. But greatly diminished from what is grown on the SalinasVlly floor.
The wines from SanBernabeVnyd and the Delicato vnyds, which are irrigated and cropped at high levels often show it.
So the MontereyCnty characteristics I describe as a slightly herbal/vegetal character that you seldom find elsewhere in Calif.
Try a btl of this BD LCV '19 & you should see what I’m talking about.
Tom

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I have had several bottles of this. I would echo your impressions for the most part. Apparently one of the big wine rating publications gave it a good number. They must have tried a different bottle than I did.

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I opened a Ventana Vineyards '79 PN Ventana Vineyard a few days ago, blind, for a post-bottling late lunch. Amazing aromatics. The tell tale vegetal note is tomato leaf. Drank well, but didn’t match the nose. I never got that tomato leaf in any La Crema Vinera or Cronin Ventana Vyd PNs from that era, that I recall. Other producers, yes.

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Thanks for the history lesson. That’s really fascinating. I may have to go pick up some BD this weekend for some education.

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