For a region (or should we say a 'state') that has the perhaps dubious accolade of being the fourth biggest producer of wine in the world, California features strangely rarely in our glasses at this far flung end of the Earth. But two recent encounters with big bold reds from the sun drenched climate of California (which made 81% of all United States wine, in 2020*) have forced a rethink of hot climate red wines. Not least because California also has cooler climatic pockets, as the second vintage of Black Stallion Cabernet Sauvignon (featured in this column) shows.
Californian wine had its commercial beginnings in 1822 and has since gone through a lot of boom and bust, the most famous of which has to have been prohibition, which lasted a staggeringly long time . It was enacted in January 1920 and finally repealed in 1933, due to growing public opposition to prohibition and a rise in organised crime as a result of it but I digress. The Volstead Act (which led to prohibition) is a fascinating slice of drinking and cultural history, which you can read more about.
The result of California's long history of red winemaking and its warm, Mediterranean-styled climate means that these two reds represent a mere smidgeon of the wine styles and variety that are possible there. These wines put the state's best feet forward as compelling expressions of Cabernet Sauvignon, in two vastly different styles.
If Californian wine has yet to feature in your glass, these wines offer a tasty entrée to the region and a bold step up.
Two wines that illustrate California's compelling reds
17.5/20
2022 Coppola Diamond Cabernet Sauvignon RRP $35.99
California and Cabernet go together like a cold night in winter and a roaring fire -if you'll excuse the predictable image that this wine brings to mind. This Cabernet opens with ripe dark fruit aromas of blackberries and plums in a medium bodied wine, wrapped in aromas of vanilla and smoked cedar. It's a soft, drink-me-now winter red, which drinks very nicely with slow cooked savoury dishes - parmigiana di melanzane being a tasty case in point.
Available from specialist wine stores or contact Stony Pony.
18/20
2023 Black Stallion North Coast Cabernet Sauvignon RRP $59.99
This is the second vintage of Black Stallion wines following its inaugural debut in 2022 and it comes from vines grown in the cool coastal climates of Mendocino and Sonoma, along with vines from the windswept hills of Suisun Valley, east of San Pablo Bay, and volcanic mountainsides further north. All of which combine to make a smooth, intensely dark fruit-scented Cabernet with blackcurrant aromas, dark fleshed plum flavours, a whiff of mocha here and a touch of smoked cedar there, all nicely intermingling in an impressive dry full bodied wine. It drinks beautifully now and has the structure - weight, dry tannins and a balance of acidity - to last for six to seven years, potentially longer.
Available from specialist wine stores or contact Stony Pony.
Statistics from the Oxford Companion to Wine.
