The Corvette vs Italian sports car idea is interesting, but I suppose if you can afford a Ferrari you could get a Corvette as well! Chump change! While the Ferrari is being tuned–every two months or so–you’ll have something to drive.
It seems to me that what Craig should do is experiment. He should not buy three cases of the first wine he likes because, like the rest of us, his taste is bound to change,
For less than the cost of a Corvette he can try lots of wines and have fun.
As John said, CDP is primarily Grenache (Which I happen to love)
CDP and California are very different and will never taste similar.
CDP has notes of garrigue which is very distinctive and really does not exist in California wines.
California Grenache has more of a purity and focus which some people actually might find boring.
I like both French and California versions, but actually find French Grenache more accessible even living in California.
It seems Grenache in California is getting harder to find. I can only think of one winery right off that I would order it from.
Syrah is much more prevalent in California and even Mourvedre is quite easy to find.
Lately I have been trying more Gigondas which is CDPs little brother and finding them to be a good value.
I am also finding some CDRs that are predominantly Grenache that I would like to try.
This is really instructive.
Another reason that I focused on Central Coast GSM is that I live in Los Angeles and can day trip to Santa Ynez and Paso Robles. The world of wine is so expansive i thought it would be fun and interesting to do a deep dive into one area, an area I can visit, and with a style that I seemed predisposed to liking. I have visited some of the “Rhone Rangers” wineries which makes this hobby so much more fun and interesting for me. On this last trip I started tasting some Rhone style white wines which I really enjoyed and had no idea about.
Craig,
Drop me a line and I can certainly suggest tons of wineries to visit and wines to try from the SBC area. I am president of the SBC Chapter of the Rhone Rangers and am on the national board of directors of the group. There are so many variables at stake and as you can see above, many ‘generalizations’ about the difference between the two regions that it does make it a bit ‘daunting’ to compare/contrast. But I can certainly try to point you in the right directions . . .
Cheers!
Agree that Tablas Creek, co-owned by a Chateauneuf du Pape producer, might be a good place to start.
100%
This is the best recommendation that I have seen here, not just because it is a solid winery, but also because they produce so many different bottlings of Rhone varietals. Heck, they even have a 100% Tannat, which could be their best wine, IMHO. Makes for a very fun tasting.
Important to note that Tablas Creek was started by the Perrin Family that owns Beaucastel, I think in partnership with a CA family. Beaucastel is an historic Chateaunuef du Pape, one of my faves.
Now that said, I do not like Chapoutier at all. They tend to make very full-throttled, high alcohol, stylized wines. I do not recall having any 2004, but that was definitely a more balanced year in CDP, so perhaps Chapoutier did not go OTT.
Is Tables creek still owned by Beaucastel?
I would take this opportunity! Learning about the local expression of these grapes with a great guide is not to be missed.
Per Website:
“Tablas Creek is the realization of the combined efforts of two of the international wine community’s leading families: the Perrin family, proprietors of Château de Beaucastel, and the Haas family of Vineyard Brands.”
"Tablas Creek Vineyard follows the centuries-old Châteauneuf-du-Pape tradition of blending, to produce wines that balance richness and elegance, while ensuring complexity, freshness, and minerality. Winemaking techniques, including dry farming, native yeast fermentation, and the use of large, neutral French oak foudres for aging allow our wines to reflect authentically the grapes, place and vintage from which they come.
Red wines, comprising about 50% of the vineyard’s production, are made principally from Mourvèdre, Grenache Noir, Syrah, and Counoise. White wines, comprising about 35% of production, are made from Roussanne, Viognier, Marsanne, Picpoul Blanc, and Grenache Blanc. Two rosés, one based on Grenache and the other on Mourvèdre, account for the final 15% of production. Total production averages between 25,000-30,000 cases per year."
Larry…much appreciated. I will take you up on that next time I am up in SBC, and thanks for all the other opinions/thoughts.
As a general rule, I don’t find California Rhone varietal wines, whether using CdP like blends or not, to be at all similar to CdP. As others have said, Chapoutier is a very ripe, sweet style of the wine and so, perhaps, more like the general ripeness one finds in California than other CdPs might be. I still don’t think it would be the same. Even the handful of CA producers who make a more structured and restrained style, such as Edmund St. John (whose wines I very much like) taste to me more like a very good version of their own kind of wine and not CdP. For me, that’s a good thing, since being able to taste a sense of place in the wine is part of the pleasure it gives.
Not enough brett? 
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I had a Tablas Creek GSM a year or so ago for the first time in a long time. It seemed a bit candied and a bit hot to me. Not my cup of tea. Maybe it was the vintage. I don’t know. I think I paid $30 or so, and at that price I can find Southern Rhones I prefer.
The Perrin’s never owned 100% of Tablas Creek. As I recall, they did contribute a bunch of cuttings that were used to plant the vineyard, though.