JUSTIN Food & Wine Blog

Paso Robles, CA vs. Bordeaux, France - Which Wines Rule? (Part 1 of 2)

Tasting Room Manager Chris Jahns and Winery Sommelier and Wine Educator Jim Gerakaris discuss the differences between growing and making Bordeax style wines in the Bordeaux region of France and in Paso Robles, California.  Chris and Jim both have backgrounds in Wine Education having received certifications from both the Court of Master Sommeliers and Society of Wine Educators.  Chris has additionally completed his Level 3 WSET certificate.

Through their eyes, we hope to present a detailed, but easy to understand, series of posts about how Cabernet Sauvignon and other affiliated grape varieties of the Bordeaux region (cabernet franc, merlot, petit vedot and malbec) can be used to make some of the most outstanding, but different wines due to regional differences between Bordeaux, and Paso.  We hope you’ll enjoy this series.

BORDEAUX

By Jim Gerakaris, CWE
Winery Sommelier and Wine Educator

Cabernet sauvignon is always thought of as the core Bordeaux grape variety, but in reality it is really only the star of the show in one region of Bordeaux referred to as “the Left Bank”, specifically the Medoc region.  In fact cabernet sauvignon is the only grape variety of the five main ones associated with Bordeaux* that we know for a fact actually comes from the Medoc. 

A “child”, or crossing of two other varieties used in the region - cabernet franc and sauvignon blanc, cabernet sauvignon literally has its roots in the Medoc and is perfectly suited to the climate and soils of the region.  Let’s have a look at why this grape variety shines so brightly in the Medoc.

With a forest on its western side to protect it from the cold winds that blow off the Atlantic, and the Gironde River on its eastern shore, the Medoc sees temperatures that are only a few degrees warmer than the area often called “the Right Bank.”  Cabernet sauvignon is a late ripening variety that has adapted to the weather of its home region, so much so that when planted on the marginally cooler Libournais, it does not show the greatness it does in the Medoc.  For this reason, you will find that Merlot, an earlier ripening variety, is the variety that produces most of the great wines on “the Right Bank”, most notably in the regions of St. Emilion and Pomerol.

SOIL

Of course, this conversation would not be complete without a discussion of soils, and once again, the soils of Medoc are well suited to cabernet sauvignon, but maybe not for the reasons you might think.  Yes the parent material for most of the soils in the Medoc and in much of Bordeaux is indeed calcaire, a type of limestone not so different than what we see in areas of Paso Robles, but as in most regions that grow great wines, there is an interesting interaction of soils, climate and geography behind the scenes in Bordeaux.  The best areas for growing grapes in the Medoc, cabernet sauvignon specifically, are large mounds of gravel that were deposited by the Gironde River over millennia that effectively lowered the water table by their height of only a few meters, providing good drainage to the sensitive roots of the vines that are grown on them. So you can see that in Bordeaux, like Paso Robles, water is it is also a challenge, but in the case of Bordeaux, there is too much of it!  There is clay underlying the soils in areas that can be used for grape growing here, but the difference between a top line, or First Growth Chateau and a Cru Bourgeois, or common wine depends on the complex interaction of the height of the water table, depth of top soils, gravel, sand, and underlying clay deposits.

WEATHER

One last point has to do with the weather of each year.  Unlike Paso Robles, Bordeaux receives rainfall through most of the year, with about two inches of about thirty four annul inches falling in the peak growing season of June through August, and an average of three inches in September alone, meaning a high probability of a wet harvest in many years.  In the past, Bordeaux has been considered a marginal climate for growing late ripening varieties with one, or two “great vintages” occurring each decade.  Climate change changed this with the last 20 years being only slightly cooler than the climate of Napa.

In its formerly cooler years, Bordeaux produced wines that were more hit or miss, with the greats being really great and the not so great being, well…sub-par. The character of the wine was harder, often requiring decades to soften harsh tannins and showing distinct green, herbaceous qualities in their youth. Most recently, Bordeaux has been producing much more ripe, earlier developing (still requiring five to ten years to soften) wines partially due to a slightly warmer climate, but equally so due to high critical acclaim for more fruit driven, earlier drinking wines.

*Cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, petit verdot and malbec

** The Dutch were actually contracted in the 1600s to drain areas of the Medoc in an effort to make more land arable for planting grapes and other crops. Jalles, the deep channels they constructed are still visible an in use.

 

Justin Baldwin Discusses Which French Chateaux Influenced His Decision to Create JUSTIN (Part 2)

By Justin Baldwin

As we celebrate the twenty fifth anniversary of ISOSCELES, I have taken some time to reflect back on experiences that lead me to Paso Robles and to the creation of our propriety blends.  In this blog post, I’ll share three Chateaux that shaped the creation of JUSTIN Vineyards & Winery.

 

Chateau Prieure – Lichine

In 1951, a well-known and respected American wine writer named Alexis Lichine bought this famous property for $16,000.  I was curious to see what you got for that little money for a winery and vineyard in the middle of Margaux back in the 1950s.  I was even more curious to meet the man himself.  He was everything I had heard about him (witty, knowledgeable with a bigger than life personality). We had a wonderful talk in which to my surprise he related to me his knowledge of Paso Robles extolling its virtues and potential to produce Bordeaux style wines.  His encouragement of my pursuit of my Paso Robles dream was pivotal in my commitment to leave banking and follow my passion for making wine.  His decision to buy a lesser known property located in what was then a secondary area sealed my allegiance to Paso Robles – but by then you couldn't touch anything even in Paso Robles for $16,000!

 

Chateau Cheval Blanc

This king of St. Emilion fascinated me for its use of combining cabernet franc with merlot and its total absence of the use of cabernet sauvignon.  I had the good fortune of trying this wine numerous times when I worked in a London merchant bank thanks to our Managing Director's fondness of its charms and being invited to almost daily "business" lunches as the only American on staff.  I knew I would produce a cabernet sauvignon dominate based Bordeaux blend which ultimately would be named ISOSCELES.  I also planned to release cabernet franc and merlot as single varieties.  Cheval Blanc's style influenced me to consider making a second blended Bordeaux combining cabernet franc and merlot.  After a few years of bottling and selling cabernet franc and merlot as single varieties, my visit to Chateau Chevel Blanc ultimately influenced the creation of JUSTIFICATION.

 

Chateau Lynch-Bages 

In the mid 70's the scion of the controlling family of this esteemed estate, Jean Michel Cazes, took control of his family's second growth property and ushered in reforms fnot adopted by his friends until many years later. Fermenting in stainless steel tanks was almost heresy to his Bordeaux neighbors, but common place in the nascent California wine world.  Jean Michel was one of the first to employ this game changing technique.  I wanted to see first-hand the impact of his use of stainless steel in controling fermentation temperatures in lieu of cement or wood tanks.   I toyed with returning to fermenting in wood or cement tanks, but my visit with him quickly dissuaded me.  Now we use a more refined version of cement tank fermentation, but then the cement tank technology of today did not exist. 

 

His pioneering also led him to initiate production of what is, for my money, the finest white Bordeaux produced – Blanc de Lynch-Bages.  JUSTIN’s Sauvignon Blanc evokes qualities of his white Bordeaux even though Blanc de Lynch-Bages is a blend of sauvignon blanc and semillon grapes.  When we started production of JUSTIN’s Sauvignon Blanc you can bet my desire was to emulate as close as possible Jean Michel Cazes white wine!  Fortunately, our limestone soils produced a wine that mimicked a combination of both grape varietals even though we only grow sauvignon blanc.  My life went full circle when in 2001 I was inducted into the prestigious Bon Temps of Medoc Society by none other than the then President that ancient order - Jean Michel Cazes!

All photos credit - Wikipedia.  License

 

Justin Baldwin Discusses Which French Chateaux Influenced His Decision to Create JUSTIN Vineyards and Winery and our Iconic ISOSCELES Wine

By Justin Baldwin

Twenty-five years ago my dream was for ISOSCELES become an iconic Bordeaux style wine that would grace the wine list of upscale restaurants and be revered by serious wine collectors.  I am gratified that today my hope has become a reality as we celebrate the twenty fifth anniversary of ISOSCELES.  The journey here has been an adventure.  Early on, my vision was influenced by some of the great wines of the Bordeaux region in France.  Over the next two blog posts, I’ll share with you some epic experience that shaped my vision for the creation of JUSTIN Vineyards and Winery and the birth of ISOSCELES.

During the late 1970's and early 1980's, I made several visits to my favorite Bordeaux producers.  My goal was to narrow down the style of wine I most enjoyed and gain as much insight into how it was produced as possible.  Prior to my visits I read and reread the most authoritative book on wine of its day – Hugh Johnson's World Atlas of Wine.  His book provided a road map that not only detailed the wines produced and their locations, but also drilled further down to reveal varieties planted and included important tidbits on the proprietors.  To this day I feel the soul of a wine resides in its proprietors with their passion reflected in the style and character of their wines.  Thus, I wanted to not only see the properties and taste wines, but more importantly I wanted to meet the people behind the wines.

So here are some of my most memorable visits:

Chateau Margaux  

Always my favorite Chateau in Bordeaux!  I love the subtle sophistication and approachability of their exquisite wines.  In my opinion, Ch. Margaux is the odd man out of the five First Growth Bordeaux wines as it exhibits a more feminine style that enhances and complements a variety of cuisines.  It took multiple attempts to see this property, but it had long been on my "must see" list.  I would argue that no visit to Bordeaux would be complete without a stop here!  

The owners have long been wealthy Greeks who owned a large grocery store empire. Interestingly, the property was then and remains to this day run by the wife of the family.  Perhaps that's where it gets its graceful style?  A high percentage of Merlot dominates the wine and in my early days this greatly influenced the blend of ISOSCELES.  In each of the 25 + vintages of ISOSCELES its soft, beguiling, deceitfully delicate style has been the benchmark of our efforts.

I was not able to meet the owners or the winemaker my first stop, but years later I was introduced to Madame Corinne Mentzelopoulos by another of the Grand Dames of Bordeaux.  Even more exciting for me is being able to count the current winemaker, Thomas Do Chi Nam, as a wine friend who I met and worked with him years ago when he was at another top Bordeaux property. 

 

Chateau d'Yquem

Long the darling of dessert wines and owned by the Chairman of Louis Vuitton whose sense of exquisite taste is reflected in this wine's sumptuous, sweet, sexy, seductive style.  I was blown away to see horses pulling hand held tillers tending to the vines.  This was years before sustainable agriculture was popular.  Ch. Yquem greatly influenced my interest in non-invasive farming which ultimately evolved into our biodynamic farming of our vineyards.  Equally importantly, my interest in dessert wines began with this property leading to our production of our two desert wines – Obtuse (fortified Cabernet Sauvignon) and Sunny's Block (fortified Orange Muscat).

In part 2 of this blog post, I’ll share with you why a visit with an American at a certain winery in Margaux solidified my decision to specifically locate JUSTIN in Paso Robles, California along with how stopovers at two other Chateaux influenced important milesones in JUSTIN history. 

JUSTIN Celebates its 25th Vintage of ISOSCELES

By Jim Gerakaris, CSW; Winery Sommelier and Wine Educator

 

Making wine gives you a unique perspective on things.  It’s an activity that requires you to live with decisions you can only make once a year, and it takes years to determine if you were right. Taking this into consideration, you gain a new appreciation for what it takes to make a wine like ISOSCELES that consistently shows the best potential from each vintage. 

Going back to our first vintage in 1987, you can imagine Justin Baldwin calculating his best shot at “belonging in the company of the finest wines in the world” with his first harvest of estate fruit.  For years, Justin had studied the great producers of Bordeaux, gleaning what he could about great winemaking.  Now it was his chance to step up with his own newly harvested fruit, three brand new fermentation tanks, and a handful of barrels.

As it turns out, Justin made some excellent decisions.  The early vintages of Justin’s wine received the acclaim of everyone who visited JUSTIN.  With his eighth vintage, the 1994 ISOSCELES won the coveted Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande trophy at the famous London International Wine and Spirits Competition.  With the eleventh vintage, the 1997, ISOSCELES took the sixth spot in Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines for 2000, making Justin’s” little” winery a nationally recognized statement of uncompromising quality in winemaking .

With the 2011 ISOSCELES, our 25^th vintage, we show our continued commitment to “belonging in the company of the finest wines in the world”. Through uncompromising attention to winegrowing, winemaking, and making all the “right” decisions each year, we continue to build on Justin’s dream with each vintage, and commit to take ISOSCELES to the next level with the next 25 vintages and beyond.

3 Little Known JUSTIN Facts

From planting vines to landing top scores from wine critics, we have been busy making history these past thirty-three years. 

 

1.  Justin Baldwin purchased the winery property from actor Gary Conway of Land of the Giants fame in 1981. 

 

 

2.  JUSTIN was the first Paso Robles winery to break into Wine Spectator magazine's Top 100 list.  Currently, JUSTIN remains one of the only two Paso Robles wineries to ever earn this accolade.

 

 

3.  Oranage muscat, chardonnay, and barbara were some of the original varietials planted on the estate along with cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and cabernet franc.

 

 

Here's to many more years of history making here at JUSTIN!!

 

Holiday Celebrations... Returning to our Roots

At this special time of the year, we find ourselves going back to our roots by gathering with family and friends in the celebration of at least one of the cluster of holidays celebrated by various traditions at this time of the year. 

Holiday traditions abound within families- favorite heirloom ornaments for the tree, or a Menorah handed down for generations - these holidays themselves are often tied to ancient traditions be it Hanukkah, Christmas, or even a Solstice celebration giving us hope that the daylight will soon start increasing.  As ancient as these celebrations may be, we find that wine has always had a part in their celebration. 

Just recently, an article was published by two prominent scientists, one an expert  in genetics of grape varieties the other with the archaeology wine, which confirms that domesticated grapes and wine have been with us at least 7,000 years and possibly longer.  Wine’s religious significance just within the Judeo-Christian tradition alone is well accepted and is still used, whether actually or symbolically, in worship services around the world.

 The reason for this ancient precedence is actually very simple; grapes are the only fruit that naturally contain everything you need to make wine, provided the conditions are present to start the process.  Long ago, some lucky person happened upon a container of grapes that had been overlooked and partook of the lucky accident, the first wine tasting.  Liking what they experienced, they passed the word along to others and the rest is, well, literally history.  In times when water supplies were suspect, and struggling peoples needed a caloric supplement  to their meager diet in order to give them the energy to labor for their existence, wine appeared as a gift that also helped ease their mind at the end of a long day.

In ancient times, like today, there was also a great demand for premium wines.  The Egyptian kings  used  their “bearers of secrets in the wine-hall” an ancient precursor to modern sommeliers, to select which wines were worthy of the Pharaonic court, while the Greeks and Romans had their own favorite legendary wines that still live, if only by name, through the texts of Plato and Pliny.

In climates were grapes could not be grown, wine brought by land and sea spawned some of the first major import /export commerce, whether from Syria to Mesopotamia, or from Portugal to England. In some cases this trade even influenced the way some wines were made in order to make them transportable for long periods without spoilage.  In a few cases the wines actually arrived in even better condition than they left and to this day we still enjoy wines like Madeira, Sherry, Port, and Commandaria which were made for long transport.

While the style and quality of the wines we now make may have changed considerably over millennia, the process of making a quality wine pretty much remains the same.  We at JUSTIN are committed to making wines that maintain that long and ancient tradition and that will put us in “in the company of the finest wines of the world”.  Our wines are hand harvested to select the finest fruit and each vineyard is fermented separately with great care and the resulting wine is placed in barrels for aging like many of the finest wines that have been made for millennia before them. With the last of our wines from the 2012 vintage going from tank to barrel, we add yet another vintage to the ancient chain that started with that first taste of those fermented grapes long ago.

This year as you sit at your holiday meal with your loved ones and contemplate your own roots with a glass of ISOSCELES, JUSTIFICATION, or JUSTIN Cabernet Sauvignon in hand, we wish you the best for the future with our gift from the past… the finest, finely crafted wines we can make and share with you at this special time.  Happy Holidays to you and your loved ones.

Cheers,

Jim Gerakaris, CSW

Certified Sommelier

The Blessing of the Harvest at JUSTIN Winery

 

Friar Dawson blesses the JUSTIN 2010 Tempranillo

We are pleased and excited to announce the first day of Harvest at JUSTIN! We kicked off Harvest by picking our Sauvignon Blanc on Wednesday, September 8, 2010, and we brought in our Tempranillo the following day.   

As a result of one of the coolest summers in Paso Robles history, our Harvest this year has been pushed back about 10-18 days. We usually start to harvest our grapes at the end of August, but this year we did not get started until we were more than one full week into September. If this sluggish trend continues, we could be harvesting all the way into November – “Things are moving very slowly,” said Estate Vineyard Manager Paul Kaselionis.

The JUSTIN team gathers around the grapes

Despite the late start this year, we introduced a new tradition – new to us, that is. The Blessing of the Harvest is a custom dating back to classical Greek, Roman, Hebrew, and Christian times, when the first fruits of harvest were offered to the temple or church. The ritual has evolved and changed over time, and at JUSTIN we adopted our own version.

Friar Wayne Dawson, from St. Rose of Lima Church in Paso Robles, California, was kind enough to come to the winery on a moment’s notice (as Harvest comes suddenly and has a short window of opportunity, even in slow seasons!) to bless our Tempranillo, the JUSTIN staff, and the forthcoming Harvest season. He spoke about the excitement and camaraderie of Harvest and prayed for a fruitful season for JUSTIN.

During the ceremony, Friar Dawson sprinkled the Tempranillo and the JUSTIN team with Holy water. “If you get a big splash, it might be because you need it!” he joked. We aren’t sure about the JUSTIN team, but we know for sure that our grapes can use all the blessings they can get – so say a little prayer for the JUSTIN Harvest!

 
Friar Dawson sprinkles the team, including Justin Baldwin (in the stripes!) with Holy Water