2016 Le P'tit Paysan Cabernet Sauvignon Central Coast California 750 ml

Pushing The Boundaries On Central Coast Cabernet

Winemaker Ian Brand — a Wine & Spirits 40 Under 40 Tastemaker — works magic in remote, rocky vineyards that others deem too extreme. Zipping along backcountry roads in Monterey Bay, San Antonio Valley, and San Benito, he’s unearthed breakout sites that have led Wine Spectator to crown him a trailblazer who’s “pushing the boundaries of winemaking on California’s Central Coast.” One such plot — home to 40- and 50-year-old Cabernet vines — produced this dazzlingly bright, mouthwatering release, in a year that Wine Advocate says “is looking to be an outstanding and consistent vintage.” Had this fruit come from a few miles away, in Santa Cruz, you’d be looking at a $50 price tag. Today at Wine Access, I’ve secured an allocation at just $24.99 a bottle — an unbeatable value for a juicy, beautifully aromatic Cabernet.

California’s superstars like Bernardus, Pisoni, and Kosta Browne, have their fingers on the pulse of the best-known vineyards of the Santa Lucia Highlands and Santa Cruz for wines that take top prizes from Parker and Galloni. But when it comes to the future of this region, which only continues to grow in prestige, put your money on young upstarts like Brand.

It was surfing that first brought the Connecticut native to the West Coast. When money dried up, he went looking for work and fell into winemaking, putting in time at Rhone Ranger Randall Graham’s Bonny Doon, Nicholson, and Pierce Vineyards. At his own label, he’s focused on sustainable, organic winemaking and vineyards that he describes as being “at the edge of sensible farming.” It’s that bold approach that’s landed his wines on lists at top restaurants across the country, and led Wine & Spirits to praise him as “innovative, experimental, and eager to push the envelope.”

Certain factors in Monterey drive the singular character and expression of Brand’s wines. The soils here are hard and infertile, driving down yields and forcing roots to sink deep into the earth in search of moisture and minerals. Intense sunlight is relieved only by cold, sharp coastal breezes off the Pacific, while dramatic diurnal temperature swings send grapes’ ripening into acceleration by day before shutting them down by night as temperatures plummet. It’s these extreme conditions that lend the 2016 Le P’tit Paysan Cabernet its sleek texture and visceral energy. This is definitely a case buy.

Sincerely,
Vanessa Conlin
Master of Wine Candidate
Vice President of Wine, Wine Access