(1) Yes perception of Carneros is changing, in the sense of consumer interest in wines from there declining.
(2) It probably changed because (a) better chardonnay and pinot is being made in more other places now than was probably the case 15-30 years ago (Sonoma Coast, RRV, Anderson Valley, SLH, SRH, SCM, Chalone), (b) maybe the heavier styles that tend to come out of Carneros are falling out of favor, (c) a rapidly growing number of dynamic new pinot and chard producers is appearing all over the state but almost none of them is planting its flag in Carneros, (d) most of the pinot and chard producers in Carneros are doing it as a (usually lackluster) side offering from their main ones in Napa (e.g. Mondavi, BV, Cakebread, Domaine Chandon), and (e) the wines tend to be overpriced because they have the “Napa” label and/or the big cabernet producer’s label.
(3) The lesson is that wine is a highly and increasingly competitive business, and if a bunch of other regions are developing and improving around you, you can lose market share pretty quickly.
That’s all my speculation and opinion as a consumer - certainly, someone in retail or in the wine business could have a more informed perspective.
The 2012 Saintsbury Stanly Ranch Pinot is superb. I also like some of Donum’s wines, though they are pricey. Hudson and Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay are right up my alley.
A 1977 Martin Ray Winery Lake Pinot Noir I had recently was shockingly good. On that alone there must be some potential in that dirt. Feels to me that Carneros might be currently under-performing its full potential.
Up until the late '60’s, most of the Pinot was planted up-valley in NapaVlly (other than the SCM) and people
finally realized that that was too hot for growing great Pinot. They realized they needed a cooler spot. Hence they migrated
South into the Carneros…much cooler there. There was a huge expansion of planting (Pinot & Chard) in the Carneros.
Compared to up-valley Pinots, they could be very/very good. Some of those first Pinots of FrankMahoney & KentRasmussen,
not to mention Saintsbury & Acacia, were as good as any Pinot in Calif.
But, since then, the competition to growing great Pinot in Calif has gotten much worse. EdnaVlly/SantaBarbara/RRV/SoinomaCoast/SLH/AndersonVlly/OR.
And the Carneros Pinots have just not kept up to the competition.
I think the main problem in the Carneros is the soils. Much of it is heavy clay, underlain by a shallow hardpan. The soils hold the moisture and the
feet of the grapes remain wet. The Pinots, by & large, don’t retain the high-toned aromatics of Pinots from other areas. They often show a streak of
earthiness and clumseyness compared to others.
But there are still some bright exceptions to this generality. Frank & Ken still make first rate Pinots.
But in terms of greatness, for Carneros it’s gotta be Syrah.
Tom
If I find a Carneros Pinot at a good price (usually a closeout type of thing), it might be worth a shot as a QPR. I agree that the value just isn’t there at full MSRP in most cases, though.
+1 on the Syrah from there, though…better examples are truly world-class. Don’t know why the soils would be the culprit, if those soils make for weak Pinot, but great Syrah?
Is there much to be said about Carneros south of 12 vs north? South of the highway seems to be a pretty gentle slope towards the bay where as north tends to have more striking elevation change. North of 12 is where I think some of the better land is (Truchard, Hyde, Sinskey, Winery Lake). I understand the highway is sort of an arbitrary border but there’s some anecdotal evidence.
In the late 70’s, especially 1976-8, the Carneros Creek pinots of Francis Mahoney were among the best in California. In addition, the Winery Lake Vineyard seemed to supply a few wineries with wonderful fruit. As Tom mentioned, Acacia and Saintsbury were highly sought after. I even think Ric Forman made some pinot for a “hot’” new winery called Bouchaine for a while. Lately it has seemed as if the area has lost all it’s buzz.
I appreciate all the comments. Welcome back, Tom Hill!
I have no problems with Carneros. I just wanted to understand the shift away from the appellation in terms of the “hot list”. To my recollection, the Saintsbury wines were (in the '90s vintages) not dark or clumsy, but light and gentle, with a nice earthy fruit element.
Like the proverbial case of pneumonia, this is also Carneros’ problem. I had a talk with one of the owners of a vineyard there, who had in recent years grafted over some excellent Syrah to Chardonnay. Her attitude was, Carneros great for Syrah, good for Chardonnay, terrible for Pinot, but she can’t sell her Syrah.
Take a look at Hudson and Las Madres, is all the proof you need. But, given the time it takes to mature a vineyard and market it, getting the right grapes into the right places takes decades, if not centuries.
In 1991 I visited Burgundy with Anthony Hanson. Our hosts,Jean and Noelle Francois, opened a 1980 Acacia PN, an 80 DRC… and an 80 Cros parantoux from jayer and the Acacia did not not take crap from the other two bottles on the table. In the 90s I represented Saintsbury in the UK. During that period Saintsbury won all sorts of medals at the International Wine Challenge, inc two sweepstakes prizes. So do i think Carneros can produce top wines, esp Pinot Noir…yes I do.
It is also true that Carneros can produce excellent Syrah, Merlot and Chardonnay.
We are just recovering from a drought, so perhaps clay soil —with its capacity to retain moisture —is not always a bad thing.
The wind can drive you batty at times and play with ripening but this is not unique to Carneros.
Acacia had its financial issues, so it became part of the Chalone group, which in turn became part of Diageo, whose wines are now part of Treasury…what we used to call Beringer Wine Estates.
Treasury also owns Etude, so they have sold the Acacia facility to Peju…The tendency of large groups is to make an inexpensive wine with the same label as the ‘real’ stuff so now we have Chalone Monterey,
Acacia ‘A’, along with similar brand extensions for BV and Sterling…Inglenook Navalle anybody?? I don’t know what will happen to Chalone Monterey but that’s another story.
Both Hudson and Hyde are making their own wine and the Hydes are building a winery in Carneros. Don’t forget there are three companies in Carneros devoted to sparkling wines. All of them seem to be doing well.
Of course, when Carneros started to make fine Pinot Noir, and I count from the ZD St Clair 1972, not too many others were in the same ball park and now it seems it’s easy to make Pinot and hard to make Cabernet…
Didn’t realize Carneros wasn’t cool anymore, but I did try a few recent vintages and haven’t liked them as much as Anderson Valley, RRV, Sta. Rita Hills, etc. Maybe climate change?
I could be wrong, but my sense was that a relatively high proportion of Carneros was in the hands of producers with large corporate owners, like the sparkling wine houses, Acacia, et al. (Correct me if I’m wrong.) And I’d guess that land there was more expensive than places like Anderson Valley, and maybe the Russian River, at least 10-20 years ago. I think the availability of affordable vineyard land was another factor that drove the current generation of cooler-climate producers to other areas, and they are the folks that have captured consumers’ imaginations.
John,
I represented Saintsbury in the UK from around '87 until '02. During that time the winery won lots of medals at the International Wine Challenge, including several bests of show.
In Burgundy I’ve seen Acacia holds its own against wines from DRC and Jayer.
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