The ever-engaging Randall Grahm touts his "regular" Le Cigare Volant these days as Burgundian. I would simply call it inspired, but not, as he points out, by Chateauneuf-du-Pape. In this vintage Grahm the winemaker leans heavily on Cinsault (17 percent), Mourvedre (17 percent) and Carignane (16 percent), more so than you would find in Chateauneuf, although Syrah (28 percent) and Grenache (22 percent) have the leading roles. If it’s not a masterpiece of the blender’s art, it’s close. This vintage is complex, with layered fruit aromas, and beautifully structured, built as it were to improve over time. There is a cool-climate note to this wine, with peppery notes that lend pizzazz. Impressive now, but likely dazzling in three to five years. It has every right to improve.
Bonny Doon Vineyard, Central Coast (California) 2010
By Robert Whitley