Bechtold Vineyard Cinsault after pruning

Cinsault doesn’t get a lot of respect. In Chateauneuf-du-Pape, it’s just one of many red blending grapes, never a star. Cinsault and Pinot Noir are the parents of Pinotage. But, due to an old South African predilection for calling Cinsault “Hermitage,” the grape doesn’t get obvious credit. Besides, Pinotage?

Finally, in the past few years, Cinsault is striking out on it’s own and earning a reputation for excellence. All the variety had to do was move to Lodi and wait 120+ years. Suddenly Cinsault is cool. It’s an “overnight sensation.”

In Lodi’s Bechtold Vineyard, gnarly vines planted in 1886 stand patiently but proudly in deep, sandy soil. The vineyard, owned by Wanda Woock Bechtold¹, has been leased and tended by Phillips Farms since 2008. They farm it organically and irrigate just once a year, after harvest. Some of the fruit goes to their own Michael David Winery. The rest is sold to quality-focused producers such as Turley and Onesta.

There’s a good reason, beyond Cinsault’s typical anonymity, that this particular Cinsault took so long to make a name for itself. It used an alias. When the cuttings were first purchased, back in 1885, they were identified as Black Malvoisie.

Here’s something to know about Black Malvoisie. There’s really no such thing. That name seems to have been used solely in California for misidentifying Cinsault. (There are a few variations of Malvasia Nera in southern Italy, but they have nothing in common with Cinsault nor do they have any relevance in the US or France. Cinsault hails from Languedoc-Roussillon.) The Bechtold Cinsault’s secret identity was revealed through genetic research by Kay Bogart and Andy Walker of U.C. Davis in 2003.

Bogart immediately contacted Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon. Grahm became the first modern champion of these particular vines. And Bonny Doon seems a natural place for a lonely Rhone to range. Grahm has long been a proponent of authentically, even anachronistically, grown and made wines inspired by those from the Rhone Valley.

The grapes soon found their way into Bonny Doon’s delicious Chateauneuf-du-Papish blends. Lately though, vintners are letting this Cinsault solo. Red wines and rosés show its gentle, yet complex, personality. There are berries, red and black, earth, dry herbs, flowers and gorgeous spices.

These Cinsault are not wines for aging. They are wines for drinking—drinking by the glass, by the bottle, with a meal and without. Moderate in alcohol, moderate in tannin and moderate in acidity, they can be wholly immoderate in pretty.

Take for example, the 2013 Turley Cinsault Bechtold Vineyard with its beautiful nose of meaty and exotic spices, dried dark flowers and dried berries. Drink most of the bottle, then dab the rest behind your ear. The wine is medium in body with fine grained tannins and alcohol of just 13.0%. It politely requests an invitation to lunch at your favorite sidewalk cafe.

The 2011 Onesta Cinsault Bechtold Vineyard is beefier, literally. It offers drying herb, earth, meaty spice and rare beef with medium-plus body. The acidity and fine-grained tannins remain moderate though. Here’s a wine which will hold up some months in the cellar or hold its own during an evening at the steakhouse.

Winemakers tend to respond in kind to this Cinsault’s gentle nature. The aforementioned Turley is surprisingly laid-back relative to that company’s powerhouse Zinfandels. So too the 2013 Michael David Cinsault Bechtold Vineyard. The uber-successful family winery, behind bold labels such as Earthquake, Lust, Rage and Seven Deadly Zins, used a delicate hand to produce their balanced and graceful vineyard designate.

That wine is red and black berry pie on the nose and palate—something Michael David knows well—with a soft kiss of oak and chocolate. Again, body is medium, the sophisticated tannins moderate and acidity just enough for food. Speaking of which, you’ll want a thick hamburger, medium rare on toasted focaccia; no ketchup, mustard, mayo, onions, bacon or cheese to confuse things.

Another winning wine is the 2012 Estate Crush Cinsault Bechtold Vineyard. Its aromas and flavors are of earthy red and black berries, spice and dry herb. Again, the body is just north of medium and the tannins moderate and very fine. Take it on a picnic with charcuterie or chicken ( grilled or fried).

2013 Turley Cinsault Bechtold Vineyard, Lodi
13.0% alcohol. About $25, Highly Recommended

2011 Onesta Cinsault Bechtold Vineyard, Lodi
14.5% alcohol. $29, Highly Recommended

2013 Michael David Ancient Vine Cinsault, Lodi
14.5% alcohol. $25, Recommended

2012 Estate Crush Cinsault Bechtold Vineyard, Lodi
13.8% alcohol. $26 , Recommended

¹ Wanda Woock Bechtold also owns Jessie’s Grove Winery with her son, winemaker Greg Burns

Photo of Bechtold Vineyard Cinsault Vines courtesy of Michael-David Winery.