Winery Exchange: Chronic Cellars Has Arrived

Chronic Red Takes a Seat at the Table

Chronic Cellars, “Dead Nuts”

2013 Paso Robles Blended Red, 15% alc.

• 64% Zin
• 21% Tempranillo
• 15% Petite Sirah
• with just a smidge of Tannat for structure

Dear me, it’s time for a wine review.  Been a while. As some of you know, I spent the better part of three days this winter in Santa Barbara and Santa Maria wine country. The experience left me hankering for Central Coast California wines. Happily, a good friend at the Winery Exchange in San Rafael was keen to have me review a pair of bottle from this new distributor/winery Chronic Cellars.

This blogpost we’ll devote to and examine a strange and #winning little bottle called "Dead Nuts" by Chronic Cellars.

So I got home from work and a box full of some not-so-common grape wines had been dropped by my rather lazy UPS driver who didn't ask for a signature! What was he thinking? But this is D.C., so we're "goin' rogue" that way.

At any rate, what a joyful thing to come home to after a long day of work:

We'll Cover the White on the Left
in a Later Blogpost

I am a little surprised, but this rather hot, Zin-based red blend is a spicy, peppery mix of easy drinking Cali Zinfandel fun that features the punch and tannins of Petit Syrah and Tannat. There is an odd addition of Tempranillo here which I cannot explain, but it didn't deliver a noticeable interruption. Now, how a glass at 15% alcohol can be so easy to drink, I simply do not know. I would think the alcohol would overwhelm a glass without food. But this does not do that.

I’m pleased to report—not least of all because drinking bad wine drives me crazy—that this bottle provides a nice evening diversion. For the price ($ 26), I think it’s a fair bit pricey, but tasty, and I'm a sucker for that.

And most importantly for a Stoop Party thrower like me: no one is going to turn down a glass of this baby.

“Dead Nuts” is the most tannic in structure within the Chronic portfolio. As my friend said, “While the packaging is wild, the wine is good.” I agree. A little hot for my liking, but that caveat aside, I concur.

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Snowzilla in the MidAtlantic

As I was saying, I had just come home from a rough day fighting a first day back at work after the east coast's big “Snowzilla” snow storm here in the Mid-Atlantic (see picture on the left here). And the prospect of grilling a pork loin on my Weber was daunting, so I opted for the propane grill. After 25 minutes in the 375 degree oven and then 12 minutes on the grill, the loin was just superb. Pink and flaky without the dryness you so often get with over cooking. 

The hickory nuts and twigs I use on the propane grill substitute nicely for charcoals or lava rocks and the smell the loin gets is heavenly. With a simple spaghettini and fresh green salad—fresh from where in January I do not know and cannot imagine—I dived into my second glass.

Finishing a Pork Loin on the Grille Makes For a Lovely Roast

The second glass was great with the food. I think there is something to be said for planning a meal and then opening your bottle based on what you are making. I used to be very judgmental about this. But a Pinot Noir or a Crianza would have been wasted on this meal; so I was a little worried about the Tempranillo in this bottle. But this red blend (and I think red blends are vastly underrated by consumers) has the chops to handle the brined loin and my hearty red sauce.

And I'm not Really a fan of Pork!

This red from Chronic Cellars was a surprise when it probably shouldn’t have been. The grape combo you see at the top of this blog post tells you everything you need to know:

1. The spicy, white- maybe black- pepper bite;
2. The nice, full mouth-feel; 
3. The surprisingly lack of a deeper, purple color that I expected. (The visual through the glass appeared to not be all that full-bodied, and I chalk that up to the Tempranillo thinning out the color, so the glass doesn’t enjoy a typical Zin color. No matter, the wine was delicious. 

It’s a fun drink with a grilled meal. Even the vinegar and oil in the salad didn’t spoil it. So, in spite of the label which strikes me as wine for Dead Heads (hence the name, “Dead Nuts?”), the liquid in the bottle outsells the intended target. I’m not sure why a wine of this calibre doesn’t deserve a label akin to the fancy Angelina and Brad labels we’re seeing at more of the celebrity wineries.

Maybe it’s a matter of taste! Maybe it's a matter of marketing. 

According to my notes on this wine, the goal for Jake and Josh Barnett (the brothers who make Chronic), has something to do with embracing lesser known varietals and trying to grow them in California. Also, they decided that if they were going to bother to make wines, they’d make “not your parents’ wine.” And so this portfolio is where it is today.

I’m open. I’d give them a try. They seem ripe to be distributed by BevMo or even a Trader Joes, so look for them in the higher end line of your local. I believe this may be the Peachy Canyon-equivalent of wine that used to define Paso Robles. It’s a hybrid, sort of a "newer varietals" meet the Zin, the Calif original.

I look forward to reviewing their Grenache Blanc/Picpoul white blend that they call "Stone Fox." Early word from this Tablas Creek/Denner/Kenneth Volk fan, it's damn nice.

Bon Appetit and Prost, all in one!

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