All the ink is red                   and the shelves are full

                    (the ink is red)                                       (and the shelves are full) . . .

I understand optimism, pessimism and realism. I generally tend to fall into the optimistic side of the latter. However, after reading through Wine Spectator’s latest issue concerning California Cabs I have to wonder if these folks aren’t hitting the cellar a little too often. Maybe I would be too.

Although my first love is Bordeaux I cannot, by any stretch, state that California does not make truly excellent wine – it does. I have been seduced and massaged by fabulous Cabernet Sauvignon based wine, along with other grape varietals that grow very well there, and it seems that California quality just gets better with most every vintage. There’s not much wine that is structured enough to age very long but that’s kind of the point with CA: they make em’ drinkable upon release providing nearly instant gratification. And although I have stopped short of their cult classics like Harlan, Bryant Family and Screaming Eagle, I have tasted through many of their very finest and have to report that these are very fine wines by any standard. A few that come to mind include Shafer, Paul Hobbs, Schrader, Colgin, Peter Michael, Caymus, Chappellet, Joseph Phelps, Dalle Valle, Lewis, Continuum, and Silver Oak. You get the idea. These are all considered among some of the best of California.

I know that times are really tough for our hard-working estate owners and I am not insensitive to the plight they are facing. But I have to ask of most of them, “what the hell were you thinking?” In California, not only are they dreaming, but also I wonder if they might not be tripping! Looking though this year’s lineup of California cabs crystallizes the notion that there will be some major housecleaning coming up soon. There will be a lot of fallout that should gratefully reduce clutter at retail and sharpen the market considerably, ultimately creating better values for the consumer (prices will drop and quality will have to go up to be competitive). But it’s going to take some time and will be a painful journey for many would-be winemakers that just couldn’t get through to the consumer because of being dropped by their distributor, lack of market recognition and loyalty, less than stellar winemaking, and stupidly high prices.

I personally consider James Laube, Wine Spectator’s California wine critic, to be somewhat of a wild card. I do not think he is nearly as consistent as say, Spectator’s James Suckling, who nails down Bordeaux and Italy quite well. Regardless, Mr. Laube is entitled to his opinion right or wrong, and he does have substantial experience to draw on. And admittedly 2006 was not the best vintage in California but still, as a wine consumer consider some of the following information based on Mr. Laube’s reviews:

Would you rather buy:

a)     Goldschmidt Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley Single Vineyard Selection Vyborny Vineyard Plus, 2005, rated at 83 points for $150, or 

b)     Greg Norman California Estates, Cabernet Sauvignon North Coast, 2006, rated at 86 points for $15? 

Have you ever even seen or heard of Goldschmidt? Do you see this wine stacked up by the case in grocery stores? Me neither, and though I don’t claim to have huge depth of knowledge on the subject of California wine estates, why would anyone bother buying this wine at this price and quality, especially if it is virtually unknown? This nice couple from New Zealand has been around for a decade or so but unless Bill Gates is a close relative of one of them, their winery is probably not going to be around in another year or two. I’m not aware of Bill having family ties in NZ but I’ve been wrong before.

Would you rather buy:

a)     Gemstone, Ten Yountville, 2006 rated at 91 points for $150, or 

b)     Schrader, T6 Beckstoffer To Kalon, 2006 rated at 99 points for $125?

Granted the Schrader is going to be much tougher to find if you’re not a member of their mailing list (and more than double the cost) but the point is, there are literally hundreds of producers that have very high price points and very low quality and when you combine those factors with the estates that are not well-known and did not have time to create a following of mail order clients, well, all one can say is, au revoir.

Screaming Eagle at 91 points and a $750 release price should be charged with some sort of felony against innocent wine lovers, except that they have such a huge cult following that they are not going to be put away anytime soon. One of the most egregious price-to-score ratios of the season has to be Oberon Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Hillside Reserve 2006, rated at 75 points for $75. Just because an offspring of the great and late Robert Mondavi makes the wine for this label, it will not allow them to escape reality forever. Another producer, Hartwell, really ran themselves off the rails in 2006 with their Stags Leap coming in at 81 points for $115 and their Stags Leap Misté Hill coming in at 78 points for $60. In ’05 this estate produced very fine wine, in fact one of my favorites of the vintage, at 95 points and 93 points respectively.

It makes me sad really, in many respects. Yes, we need to get real and, no, not everyone can live the dream, especially these days. The room is simply too small to hold a crowd that is as large as California wine producers so someone has to go. In this case there will be lots of someones. California Dreamin’ was great while it lasted but today’s economic realities will inauspiciously end the dream for many.

David Boyer