QOTD: While I haven’t tried any California Rhone Rangers, I have had quite a few Australian. My favorites in rank order:

1) Kaesler Stonehorse ($20) – great wine year to year
2) Langmeil Three Gardens ($20) – right up there with the Stonehorse
3) The Stump Jump ($13) – good wine for college crew. I would rate 87-88 pts.

I had a bottle of the Kaesler Avignon which was hailed by Robert Parker as a great wine, but it came off super hot to me. The alcohol made me think I was taking shots as opposed to enjoying a glass of wine. I suppose it could be used for body shots!

QOTD: As well drunk as I am I don’t think I’ve ever had a Rhone Ranger. I always try to go for the real thing. But I congratulate CA winemakers for going for something other than straight varietals or Bordeaux blends
Nice Ep and thanks for the heads up on the fruit bomb. The Beckmen sounds interesting; might have to give it a whirl.

Man, I hate playing catch up….OK, I’ve never had a rhone ranger, but I am always willing to give a rhone blend a chance.

Steve Edmunds and ESJ wines. Beginning, middle, and end of debate!

Thanks so much for taping these shows in advance. Great show.

QOTD: I have had quite a few Rhone Rangers when I lived in L.A. and went up to Santa Barbara wine country pretty often – Andrew Murray, Rideau and Zaca Mesa are a few of my favorites.

“FRUIT BOMB NEW WORLD WINE ”
Maybe America’s just not OLD enough for the “OLD WORLD” flavors!

Great episode. The rant at the end was spot on, methinks. Keep up the good work!

Agreed on the Beckman.

There’s gotta be some confusion about Rhone Rangers and how they differ from field blends. I mean shouldn’t an RR be limited to Rhone grapes (of which Petit Sirah is definitely not). If you expand the QOTD to include non-Rhone grapes, I’d add:

Owen Rowe – Abbots Table blend changes yearly but always seems to includ Zin

– Morgan – Cotes de Crow

– Justin – The Orphan

:O

Never use ass and crap in the same sentence!

QOTD – I’ve had Bonny Doon Le Cigare Volant. That’s about it.

Hey Gary, thanks for another good episode.

QOTD: Australia has a heap of ‘Rhone Rangersâ??; I suppose you could probably call them ‘Rhone Bushrangers’. Apart from all the Shiraz Viognier blends we do well (Clonakilla and De Bortoli are my favourites), there are also a heap of GSM produced in the Barossa and the McLaren Vale. My favourite would probably be Charles Melton’s ‘Nine Popes’, though I think it’s only a Grenache, Shiraz blend.

Australia is also starting to successfully produce the Rhone white varieties as well. The obvious example is Tahbilk in central Victoria who have produced a fantastic, age-worthy Marsanne for decades. I actually think they have the World’s largest planting of Marsanne grapes. This wine is a cracker and can usually be bought in Australia for less then $10 a bottle (US $8). From the same region is another producer Terra Felix who produce a Shiraz Viognier, a Mourvedre and a Marsanne Roussanne blend, all of which are again great value.

D’Arenberg in the McLaren Vale makes a huge selection of wines, but is an expert of the Rhone blends. It produces a host of great Grenache based wines, but again also produces some excellent whites. The ‘Hermit Crab’ Viognier Marsanne blend is a favourite, but their straight Roussanne and Viognier are also pretty good.

The list goes on and on, but I would expect to start seeing a lot more straight Viognier coming out of Australia â?¦

Cheers Andrew

I like Rhone varietals. Cline makes good, reasonably priced Rhone blends.

QOTD: Don’t recall having one.

What the heck was on the chalkboard?????

Never had a Rhone Ranger, except Languedoc/Roussillion and Provence wines.

Great show!

Q: not had any rhone rangers that I can remember.

Another kudo to joeboo for pointing out that the Rhone Rangers are wine makers, not wines so unless you “know” some of them in the Bibilical sense, have you really “had” a Rhone Ranger?

Great show, Gary. But the Jets suck! The only team worse is my Browns. 🙁

QOTD: Rhone Rangers? Well, and this is ALL Ian’s fault, but since my trip to Paso Robles, I have been big time into the Rhone Rangers. I agree with you on the Garretson “G” Red, but most of Mat Garretson’s other wines kick butt. I love the Aisling Syrah, the Bulladoir, the Luascain, and don’t get me started on the fantastic Reliquary Red. Plus, his white wines are also really excellent. I like the Roussanne a lot and his Viognier is outstanding to me. The Marsanne is so-so. I also like his Grenache and his Mourvedre bottlings as interesting varietals.

You cannot go wrong with Tablas Creek. Neil Madrone, their winemaker, is doing great stuff. The Esprit de Beaucastel Red is very much like a fine CDP. His Rose’ is very nice as well. The Grenache Blanc is crisp and tart and really goes well with a lot of dishes, especially seafood. Nice acidity. I tasted a Counoise as well which I had never had by itself and it also was quite tasty and different.

Adelaide Cellars has some nice Rhone wines as well. I like their G-S-M blend and their Syrah. In Santa Ynez, you cannot go wrong with anything from Beckman. Their Syrahs are top notch and really bring the thunder. Carmody-McKnight also has a couple of decent Syrahs and one nice red blend.

QOTD: I am very interested in the Rhone Ranger wines and look for these. I was particularly interested in this episode because of the Beckman. I had bought a Purisma Mountain Syrah of theirs and really enjoyed it a lot. Seems we are on the same page. I found the Beckman very complex and not over the top fruit wise.

QOTD: Like DumbPhase’s comment, I’ve never had an Alban Estate I didn’t like. Sometimes Le Cigare Volant is very good. Same comment for Tablas Creek. The problem is that there are so many Rhone wines to try that are interesting and generally cost less. The Beckman description for nose and palate in this EP was intriguing and will definitely seek it out.

Cline Cashmere is a nice Rhone Ranger for $15…

Sad Gary? Sad Gary is no good. This is no good! I always hate it ( for you, not me. Id still try a wine ) when you bust out a new type of wine for WLTV, and overall the show is a let down. I know youre trying to expand our palates and its sad when the wines dont bring it. That being said Im sure to try one in the future, which leads me to the…… QOTD!!!!!!: Ive yet to try one.

qotd: I have and 2 that stick out in my mind are Joseph Phelps Le Mistral, and those from Tablas Creek.

i look this site and there are so great info!