High Five

It’s pronounced “sank,” but there’s no sinking feeling associated with this wine. Properly, it’s the Chateau St. Jean “Cinq Cépages.” The last bit, of course, is French for “five components” or “five varieties.” It’s a reference to the fact that many of the finest wines from Bordeaux are blends of up to five native grape varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot.
What makes the Cinq prodigiously special is that, in December of 1999, the 1996 vintage was named the number one wine in all of the world by the Wine Spectator, thereby easing—nay erasing—any marketing difficulties the Kenwood winery might ever have had in selling it. (In an unexpected and unequalled coup, the 1999 vintage of the Cinq was, three years later, named the number two wine in all of the world by the same publication. A rare vote for consistency in an often inconstant world.)

Making the case

Phil Pyrce is a group brand manager for Foster’s Wine Estates America (formerly Beringer Blass Wine Estates) and brand manager for Chateau St. Jean. The Foster’s Wine portfolio includes Chateau St. Jean, Chateau Souverain, Cellar Number Eight and Taz, the company’s vibrant Central Coast property.
“With the recognition Cinq Cépages got when it was touted as the best wine in the world, it became something of an iconic wine,” says Pyrce, a westside Chicago native who grew up rooting for the Cubs (“but never to the exclusion of the White Sox”). “Because of the wine’s quality and the recognition it’s received over the years, it’s become something of a privilege to have the opportunity to work with this wine.”

Pyrce, who previously worked at Paterno International, the Chicago-based wine outfit, says Cinq Cépages is a hand-sell item. “In mid-November, we took winemaker Margo Van Staaveren on the road—to New York, Atlanta and Chicago—where we worked to build our relationships with distributors, the best restaurants and our top retail accounts. Margo is the one thread of continuity with this wine. Though her husband had the primary responsibility for the first vintage of Cinq and Steve Reeder was head winemaker for a time, Margo has been there for every vintage: as assistant winemaker, associate winemaker and head winemaker. As part of the meetings, we presented a vertical of the wine from 1996—the number one wine—through the current release vintage, the 2003.”

It’s particularly interesting that, despite the intense popularity of the wine—especially since the high ranking gave it inordinate exposure and attention—that production has never been pushed forward to take extra advantage of that popularity. A little more than 11,000 cases were produced of the 1996 vintage, and since then, levels have remained relatively constant at between 10,000 and 15,000 cases per year. “It really depends on the vintage and the quality of grapes we can bring into the winery,” says the petite, dark-haired Van Staaveren. “In 1998, for example, when harvest rains caused extensive problems, we made only 8,000 cases of the Cinq. If the quality isn’t there, we can’t make the wine.”

According to Pyrce, one of the prime selling tools he has with the Cinq is that “it celebrates the diversity of Sonoma County and brings the quality of Sonoma County fruit to the attention of wine lovers everywhere. As I recall, the Cinq was the first Sonoma County wine to attain the number one spot in the Wine Spectator’s annual listing of the world’s top wines, and that was a great boost for the county. A lot of people didn’t know Sonoma. When they thought Cabernet, they thought Napa. Here, all of a sudden, they had to rethink things.

“[Depending on the vintage], the Cinq takes advantage of four or five of the county’s many appellations. That’s where the consistency of style and of quality comes from. That and the fact that these wines age so marvelously. When you can show an account—which is why we’re doing a vertical back to the 1996 vintage—a wine that’s 10 years old and is still vibrant and alive, well, people are simply blown away. It’s one thing to tell them the wine ages well, but when you can show them, it really makes a lasting impression. And that’s what our job is all about. Education is, by its nature, a long-term process. There are so many places we need to go, and there’s only one Margo! Education is the most important part of my job. I’m lucky to have such a good wine—and such a good winemaker—to work with.”

Let the tasting begin

Margo is, indeed, a treat to talk and taste with. She recently hosted a handful of wine writers to do the same tasting she took on the road with Pyrce. As Pyrce suggested (and my own prior experience with the wine affirms), the older wines demonstrated they can carry bottle age with grace. The younger wines simply gave ample promise of things to come.

We began the tasting with the wine that initiated all this hubbub, the 1996, which when released was offered at $28 per bottle. Intense demand, coupled with limited supply, immediately shot that price upward as you might imagine. (The 1997 vintage was released at $50 per bottle.) “We limited people to two bottles per person from our tasting room,” recalls Van Staaveren of the 1996, “and customers were lining up down the pathway and coming up with outrageous costumes—with wigs and fake beards and sunglasses—to get through the line more than once!” Ah, such are the vagaries of notoriety.

The Wine Spectator fairly gushed over the wine—as might well be expected, given it had just dubbed it the best wine on the planet—calling it “a rich and polished wine…with uncommon depth, ripe, juicy flavors and plush, velvety texture.” They also pointed to its nominal price and availability in the marketplace, saying “it has the kind of distribution that truly excites wine lovers who are far too often frustrated by high-priced, limited production wines they simply can’t find, much less afford…. Cinq Cépages is a happy reminder that great wines can be made on a grand scale and still be reasonably priced.”

The 1996 remains a vibrant, sturdy wine, with round and supple tobacco and green tea up front, a modest toasty oak presence and the sort of green olive character that one also finds in the excellent Cabernets from the Rutherford Bench. “This was Don’s last year as winemaker here,” says Margo, “and it was something of an early harvest—we finished in the middle of October. The winery had just joined Beringer Wine Estates, so it was the first year we had access to its vineyard in Asti. That fruit is an important component of the Cinq.”

Margo says Chateau St. Jean started out focusing on a wide variety of vineyard-designated Chardonnays and had even suspended making red wines for a time under founding winemaker Dick Arrowood. “But when we planted the vineyard at the Chateau, we put in the complementary Bordeaux red varieties, including Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. The first vintage of the Cinq was 1990 when Don decided to use all five of the Bordeaux varieties yet still maintain the technical ‘varietal’ status of the wine by having at least 75 percent of the blend be Cabernet Sauvignon.”

The Reeder era

Steve Reeder came on board as head winemaker (leaving the much larger Kendall-Jackson) with the 1997 vintage, which started out late and ended up quick and compact, a logistical nightmare. Imagine crushing grapes when you’re not sure you have tank space for the juice. Somehow it all worked out, and the Cinq lived up to expectations. The 1997 is delightfully round and supple, with tobacco, green olive, violet and bell pepper fruit that lingers on the palate. “This is, for me, a forward and approachable wine, very easy to love,” says Van Staaveren. “I get a little mocha and coffee, with boysenberry fruit at the core and in the finish.” [One writer asks about the pouring protocol. “We opened the bottles at 4:30,” says one of our hosts, “decanted them—we double decanted the three youngest wines for a little extra aeration—then poured them just before you sat down for the tasting at 5:30.”]

The 1998 vintage was brushed off as “the vintage from Hell” by many writers, listening to the bleating of winemakers put off by no small amount of rainfall toward the latter stages of harvest (a reminder of the insanely difficult 1972 crush). Indeed, says Margo, “Crop levels were down and it was a late season, so varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon had longer hang time to reach maturity.” Such vintages are the test of winegrowing skill and experience, and those who possessed such qualities nonetheless made wines of character and distinction.

Thus, the 1998 Cinq—though produced in quantities only a bit more than half of what could be expected in a “normal” year—shone then and continues to shine today. It’s a bright, brittle, almost “saucy” wine (think biker bar barmaid), with crisp, razor-sharp green olive, tobacco and bell pepper fruit that stays with you. It is, indeed, something of a youthful wine, with hints of cedar and cigar box that really get your attention. “It was a very late, very wet harvest,” says Margo. “But we were able to really pick and choose. So, even though we only made a little more than half of what we normally make, it still has the concentration and depth we want in the wine.”

That’s partly due to the quality of the vineyards Margo has access to, spread across five Sonoma County appellations, and partly due to the intense selection process that’s at the heart of this wine. “All of our red wine lots are fermented separately, then aged in oak separately. About 18 months after harvest, we begin taking lots out for our Sonoma County Merlot and our Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon. Six months later, when the wines are two years old, we conduct the most exciting, the most interesting tasting: Bob [assistant winemaker Bob Coleman] and I sit down to select the lots that are going to go into the Cinq. Cabernet Franc is the most fickle part of the blend. We like it when it has that bright blueberry character, but it can be like Pinot Noir and go south, to that weedy, herbal character so easily. The Malbec is my favorite part of the blend, and occasionally we’ll make a little Malbec, as a varietal, for our tasting room and for our wine club members.”

This gets us to the 1999 vintage, which had the great fortune to be judged once again as among the top 10 wines of the world by the Wine Spectator when it was ranked second in December of 2002. There’s a hint of peppermint spiciness that adds to the usual suspects: tobacco leaf and green olive, with notes of rose petal and licorice. The wine is succulent in texture and lingers in the mouth as all great wines do. Equally, each time you taste the wine you discover yet another layer of interest and intrigue. “This was the latest starting vintage any of us can remember,” recalls Van Staaveren. “We didn’t get started until September 21st. We were anxiously waiting for harvest to begin, and Steve decided to take a vacation! Turns out, he was the smart one. This wine is, for me, a little more herbal than most. I especially like the black licorice and tea notes, not to mention the mouthfeel, which is quite supple and long.”

The 2000 Cinq Cépages is a little lighter in weight than the others, with soft tobacco and black currant, with graham (oak) and hints of blackberries and violets. The finish is a bit short, and the texture somewhat tannic. The question is: Will the fruit be sufficient to stand up to all that tannin? “This was a pretty average growing season, and nothing really stands out,” says Margo frankly. “It’s not hailed as a great vintage, yet I love this wine for drinking right now. It may not be a 10- or a 20-year wine, but that’s OK because I think it’s drinking well right now.”

That said, Van Staaveren suggests the 2001 is “the classic Cinq, and is easily a 15- or 20-year wine, for certain.” It does fairly jump out of the glass at you, with full tobacco, black currant, cassis and green olive fruit. There is a solid hit of cedar-cigar-graham oak, but it’s held in check by the fruit, which has a lovely red cherry grace note that’s vibrant and alive. “We had a little frost in April that cut the Cabernet crop by about 20 percent, so the rest matured beautifully. The oak in this wine is particularly warm and inviting.”

Completing the picture

The 2002 vintage added Russian River Valley as the fifth Sonoma County appellation to play a part in the Cinq. “This wine has a solid fruit core up front and is particularly accessible,” says Margo. It is, in fact, quite juicy and fluid in texture, with fresh tobacco, raspberry and red currant highlighting the fruit side and added violets and blackberry notes that remind me of the great wines of Pauillac (the premier Bordeaux appellation).

The 2003 Cinq Cépages has just been released at $75 per bottle (there are 12,600 cases available). “This was something of a challenging vintage in that Steve Reeder left in August,” says Margo with a laugh. Still, having known the Cinq program from its outset, she stepped in and handled the harvest without difficulty. It shows in the wine, which is fluid and juicy with pronounced green olive fruit up front, supported by the complexity of blackberry, cassis, bell pepper and black currant. “It was a difficult year in terms of weather, with a wet spring, frost and heat spikes, giving us a shorter crop than normal. The largest portion of this wine is from Alexander Valley [60 percent], with 15 percent each from Sonoma Valley and Knights Valley, and smaller amounts from Russian River and Dry Creek. We get black fruit density from our estate fruit, and the Knights Valley fruit adds a firm mouthfeel and pronounced tannins. The 10 percent from the Russian River Valley adds, for me, the exotic aromas and lush textures that really complete the blend.”

Several years ago, I had the opportunity to taste through previous vintages of St. Jean’s Cinq Cépages and came through the experience with much the same feeling as I did this time. We know—from our experience with California Cabernet-based blends and from centuries of Bordeaux experience—that such intermixing of these congenial varieties creates a symbiosis in which the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. St. Jean’s Cinq may be the poster child for this phenomenon, the perfect example of how a five-variety, team-building technique creates wines of vastly greater interest and complexity than any of the varieties standing apart. And that’s a lesson that’s well worth learning and repeating.