Rancho Arroyo Grande Vineyards: Grapes

Within the wilds of Rancho Arroyo Grande there exist three compelling vineyard block designates — Portero, Coquina and Zepherino. The estate’s vineyard plantings total 230 planted acres, with over 3300 acres of wilderness remaining. Our three blocks share the land with California Oak and native plants, bears, feral pigs, bobcats, mountain lions, coyotes, foxes, raptors and deer.

Farmer and Vineyard Manager, Sandy Matthews, oversees the estate’s vineyard plantings. Here he is, in his own words, speaking to the various plantings at this historic estate.

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Cabernet Sauvignon

"Our Cabernet Sauvignon is like the Belle of the Ball who cannot get on anyone’s dance card. It’s kind of an oddball in the SLO Coast AVA, in that it’s not known for Cabernet Sauvignon and there are not others making Cabernet Sauvignon out here, or not in a way that’s noteworthy. I really want someone to take a chance on our Cabernet Sauvignon. Right now it's a bit of a wallflower, so I’m looking for a few winemakers who will add her to their dance card. In the Potrero block, it is dry farmed and head trained. I think the fruit from that block will produce something very elegant. We have had very talented people interested in our Cabernet Sauvignon and this year, creative winemakers like the folks at Land of Saints and Outward Wines took some. I’m on pins and needles waiting to taste how they’ve each chosen to translate Rancho Arroyo Grande Cabernet Sauvignon. My sense is that it will be more of a Loire expression, but perhaps with less rusticity.”

Counoise

“We have very little Counoise planted at Rancho Arroyo Grande. It’s the variety I know the least about with regard to how it expresses itself here. We have a couple of acres cumulatively. With Counoise, in general, the clusters are big, with huge berries. Up on Portero, the clusters are very sparse, yet at Coquina, the clusters are massive. So, it'll be interesting to see how the two different flavor profiles from those blocks begin to announce themselves. We have a winemaker client who bought fruit from each block and is fermenting them separately, so it will be a good exercise to try those two blocks before they’re blended together in the final wine. Counoise, when made with a lighter touch, is a great food wine, as it tends to be one of the lighter of the Rhone reds, so I’m looking forward to exploring what comes of this beautiful grape variety.”

Sauvignon Blanc

“Our Sauvignon Blanc is super interesting because it's planted in this colder pocket of the vineyard, and because of that, it's closer to the creek. I think those vines are tapping into the creek water. So, they are vigorous, but there is a shade effect. Even during heat waves, our Sauvignon Blanc keeps its acid; no sun damage or burn or anything. I've been talking to a couple different winemakers about it, and they're amazed at the chemistry that came from this block. Really great pH and TA as they're picking, so the ripening is diverse, because they kind of grow like jungle vines and keep the cluster shaded, and I think that helps preserve the acid. Gina, from Lady of the Sunshine, was saying that it’s very fragrant and that she’s infatuated with how it was developing through fermentation so that’s very exciting. It’s somewhere in between being tropical and acid-driven, racy.”

Viognier

"Out of all our plantings, Viognier is typically the lowest yielding. We get small clusters, very sparse yields. Our winemaker clients have all been picking it pretty lean; about 21 to 22 brix. They are either making stand-alone Viogniers, white Rhone blends or they’re using it to co-ferment with their Syrah. It’s not your typical viscous, opulent Viognier. It’s much more acid-driven. It's contiguous with the Sauvignon Blanc block, but more towards the bottom of the block; sloped and vertical. There is a lot of sedimentary chute rock coming off that particular hillside. It’s a beautiful block and I’m very curious to see how it performs as a stand-alone Viognier. My sense is that it will have tremendous aromatic lift. The ferments were energetic this year, with our clients telling me that the aromatics were robust, ever-evolving and uncharacteristically bright and laser-beam focused.”

Zinfandel

Our estate is near Saucelito Canyon, where they first planted Zinfandel back in 1880. The Zinfandel at Rancho Arroyo Grande is special. I consider Zinfandel to be a very Californian wine, even though it has origins elsewhere. It just seems to really do well in certain parts of California. I think that’s why previous landowners here planted so much Zinfandel on this site. Up at Portero, the Zinfandel is being dry farmed and it’s head trained. The wines that come from there have an elegance about them. They’re not punchy. They’re complex and have great acid. That’s another grape variety I’m very excited about. We also have Zinfandel in the Coquina designate. This land is so biodiverse, it’s just amazing. So, I’m very much looking forward to seeing what comes of these Zin plantings in the right hands. It's kind of sad that Zinfandel is in a state of decline in terms of popularity. I think it’s just gotten a bad name for itself over the years, being kind of overproduced. I want someone who makes great Zin to buy the Potrero fruit to really show the expression of what it can be.

Chardonnay

“The Chardonnay that we have is all grown in river bottom sandy soils. The expression that you get is very bright; high acids, similar to Chablis. After talking to a lot of the winemakers that buy our fruit, they say it just races through primary fermentation. So, it sounds like our Chardonnay leads to very nutrient-dense, very healthy ferments and they're all just super excited. Our site gives us a very racy Chardonnay. The yields are lower because of the way I pruned. Originally, it was cordon-method with kicker canes, and then I pruned it back to quadrilateral cane. And the idea was that just had such a massive crop on it the previous year that I wanted to give the vines a year of rest to rejuvenate themselves. And because of that, they were able to bounce back. I farmed this vintage almost as another crop, like avocados, for instance, being alternate bearing. I built the health of the vines and I'm hoping the vines will find balance to reinvigorate their health.”

Grenache

“We have four different clones of Grenache: 513,224, 362, and the John Alban clone. He’s a legend around here. A real pioneer and his vineyards are only about five miles from here. The Alban clone is higher-toned with big clusters interspersed with lighter clusters. Grenache typically grows vigorously, with a big, enthusiastic, bright green canopy, and that is certainly true for the Alban clone. The 224 clone has a smaller canopy. The leaves are darker, as if there is more chlorophyll in the leaves. The clusters are also small, and the berries are darker. Our Grenache is planted in our three different vineyards. In the Potrero its clones 362 and 513 on two different blocks planted in diatomaceous earth. Angela Osborne, of Tribute to Grace, is utilizing that fruit this year and I’m really looking forward to seeing how it turns out in her hands. I like her style of Grenache very much. In the Zepherino block, we’ve got the Alban clone planted in heavier, clay-rich soils. Over in the Coquina block, we’ve got the Alban clone growing in nearly pure sandy soils. When you smell our Grenache, I think what jumps out at you is the freshness, the brightness and energetic aromatics.”

Mourvèdre

Mataro is very hard to grow. Because the clusters are so big, they demand a lot of the vine, and you see a lot of vines crash-out trying to grow Mataro. I didn’t really understand this until I started to farm Mataro at Rancho Arroyo Grande. So far, Mataro seems to respond best to the Zepherino block’s heavy clay soils and different aspects. The canopies stay healthy longer and the fruit ripens more evenly and to full maturity at Zepherino. At Coquina, it needs much more attention. Historically, it appears the Mataro here was used mostly as a blending component. But our winemaker clients have expressed an interest in making stand-alone Mataro/Mourvedre with our fruit, which is encouraging. My sense is that our Mataro will be age-worthy, yet somewhat rustic. I enjoy rustic wines if they have nuance. For winemakers working with our Mataro, I sense they’ll be able to express both its rusticity and layers of nuance if they pay attention to the fruit and call the right pick times.”

Syrah

“I would describe our Syrah as cool climate, especially the Syrah fruit that comes from the Coquina and Zepherino blocks. Both are planted to the Estrella clone. We have more Syrah and Zinfandel planted at Rancho Arroyo Grande than any other grape varieties, but I think Syrah performs best, overall. No matter where it’s planted here, it seems to really respond to the terroir of this place. Year over year, our Syrah really stands apart from other sites and I think it’s because it just responds to this unique place in a very expressive way. I think it benefits from the large diurnal swing in temperature, sometimes going from 30 degrees to 110 degrees in the same day. The elevations also range from 600 ft to 2,000 ft above sea level. It’s what we’re best known for. Our Syrah is very Northern Rhone like, gamey venison, white pepper, iodine, violets. If you let it hang out long enough, then I think you get more of those richer, broader shouldered, bigger Syrah characteristics. Winemakers who pick it a little earlier (22 brix) are making leaner, more elegant expressions. Up on Potrero, we have clones 383 and 470. Those two clones produce the most intense, powerful fruit. I’m particularly eager to explore how Syrah does in this special place.”