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A Global Tour du Rhône At this year's Hospice du Rhône, we discovered a plethora of new Rhône-style wines and revisited some old favorites. Here's a run-down of some of the best, arranged by region of origin. CALIFORNIA There's no doubt that Santa Barbara and Paso Robles have made names for themselves when it comes to Rhône varieties. The impact they have made on wine buyers as go-to regions could be due to some similarity in terroir and climate in the South of France. In Paso, it starts with the rare limestone soils and the diurnal swing of hot days and cool nights. From there, the growing popularity of the Rhône varieties in Paso came in three stages. First, the planting of the original Estrella River clone of Syrah by Gary Eberle in the late 1970s. Second, the establishment of Tablas Creek Winery, a partnership between wine importer Robert Hass and the Perrin family of Château de Beaucastel, which led to a steady flow of new clonal material from the Old World to California in the 1990s. And third, the eventual arrival of a plethora of innovative winemakers who now call Paso Robles their home. In contrast, Santa Barbara County is a much cooler-climate region, influenced by a unique series of mountain ranges running east to west. The afternoon breezes from the ocean allow for more physiological ripeness and natural acid- ity, without excessive amounts of sugar. When grown in these more temperate conditions, Syrah, Grenache and others pick up more Old World characteristics of pepper and spice, with less alcohol and more acidity. And yes, Santa Barbara too has plenty of talented winemakers focused on making world- class wines to dazzle the palates of wine consumers, restaurateurs, sommeliers, importers and wine buyers. Martian Ranch & Vineyard Appellation: Los Alamos The red planet obviously makes great reds! This 20-acre biodynamically farmed vineyard in Los Alamos (north of Santa Ynez and south of Santa Maria) is an evenly temperate microclimate that bears schist/shale/loamy soils. "When we purchased the ranch five years ago, I was living in an Airstream trailer," proprietor Nan Helgeland explains. "Albeit, it was the big- gest and best, so my girlfriends dubbed it the 'Mother Ship.'" Nan went to name a wine after the trailer, the otherworldly Martian Ranch 2011 "Mother Ship" Grenache Blanc, with heavenly body and mineral shine. StarAngel by Montes Appellation: Paso Robles The moderating effects of the Pacific Ocean and the Andes Mountains keep Chile's wine country cool at night and rarely over 90 degrees during the day, its valleys protected from extreme maritime weather by low-lying mountains. In fact, experts say that Chile's grape-growing conditions are ideal, and while Bordeaux varieties have blossomed and Carmenère become iconic, Chile's Rhône grapes have also been eeking out a name. Star Angel by Montes 2007 Red (Syrah, with Grenache and Mourvèdre) is glamorous, curvy, complex and concentrated with black fruit. Aurelio Montes was the first to plant Syrah in Chile's Colchagua Valley, in 1996, and today Montes is the foremost Syrah producer in that country. One of the most respected winemakers in Chile, Montes also fell in love with Paso Robles terroir, which also maintains proximity to the Pacific, with an orientation of numerous valleys and canyons, along with varying elevations. The result is the stellar StarAngel by Montes. Dragonette Cellars Appellation: Central Coast Winemaker Mike Roth and proprietor Nan Helgeland of Martian Ranch in Los Alamos. Left: Martian Ranch "Mother Ship" 2011 Grenache Blanc, Los Alamos. Seven sites are selected to formulate Dragonette Cellars 2009 "SEVEN," a Syrah-based blend that we thought was one of the stand-out wines of the event. From Los Alamos in Santa Barbara County to the warmer Ballard Canyon area of the Santa Ynez Valley to the York Mountain AVA on Paso Robles's far West Side, the vineyards were farmed with what Dragonette's Brandon Sparks-Gillis refers to as "exacting standards" and "considered minimalism." june 2012 / the tasting panel / 99 REDISCOVERING OUR PASSION FOR RHÔNE VARIETIES IN PASO ROBLES by Christopher Sawyer and Meridith May / photos by Mike Magda PHOTO: MERIDITH MAY