Bonny Doon A 'Proper' Claret 2014

The guys at Bonny Doon Vineyards were the original 'Rhone Rangers.' Pretty cool name, right? They got the name after every employee managed to shoot a bottle of Chateauneuf-du-Pape of a wall at 80m, while on horseback. It may also be because they were one of the originals to grow Rhone varietals in California. Still pretty cool. Today, those crazy Calis are still trailblazing, this Bordeaux style blend is biodynamic and vegan, expressing wonderful natural acidity with aromas of dark forest fruits, coffee and cigar box. Very impressive, they should try that 80m Chateauneuf-du-Pape shot, they might just make it.

While Bonny Doon Vineyard began with attempt to replicate Burgundy in California, Randall Grahm realized early on that he would have far more success creating more distinctive and original wines working with Rhône varieties in the Central Coast of California. The key learning here was that in a warm, Mediterranean climate, it is usually blended wines that are most successful. In 1986 Bonny Doon Vineyard released the inaugural vintage (1984) of Le Cigare Volant, an homage to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and this continues as the winery’s flagship brand. Since then, Bonny Doon has enjoyed a long history of innovation – the first to truly popularize Rhône grapes in California, to successfully work with cryo-extraction for sundry “Vins de Glacière, the first to utilize microbullage in California, the first to popularize screwcaps for premium wines, and, quite significantly, the first to embrace true transparency in labelling with its ingredient labelling initiative. After expanding into the 28th Largest winery in the US, Randall Grahm decided he would be much happier with the wine Bonny Doon made if they downsized. Selling off some of the largest brands, now they focus on terroir driven wines with minimal intervention.