John Alban The Godfather of the California Rhone Rangers - New Releases and all Vintage Alban Wines on SALE!

*Our evening began in Peter Seychelles comfortable study in his New York townhouse,

Where the candlelight was just right, the hi-hi was in the background and the wine was delicious.

What's the secret, Peter?

Naturally, I'll say the wine

Mmmm, it does go well with the chicken.

Delicious again, Peter.*





Beatie Boys - The Blue Nun

When you look at the Rhone Rangers of California the godfather in most people’s opinion is none other than John Alban.  We are excited to see that these wines are available in Florida again as for years they were mailing list only and we have a decent collection of vintage wines from Alban in the store also on this offering.

I would try to tell the story of this producer but John does an amazing job describing his journey, this excerpt comes from his website:  https://www.albanvineyards.com/about

“Before I was old enough to drink wine (legally), I spent a lot of time wondering why Europe fermented over 500 different grape varieties, while California was using about 6. The strangest part was that people only drank 2 of the six. Fortunately, I was too young to recognize that anyone seriously planning to change how many wine types were being produced in California would have to contend with the American love affair with Cabernet and Chardonnay; our wine equivalents of chocolate and vanilla.

Far into my quest for wine grapes that would make sense for California, I celebrated my 24th birthday. That evening a friend handed me a glass of Condrieu. Knowing nothing about the wine, and informed simply (though erroneously) that it was cheap, I downed what would prove to be one of the most significant gulps of my life. Instantly I could see myself producing the world's greatest six-dollar bottle of wine. I envisioned myself hanging out with the Gallo boys. The next day I researched everything U.C. Davis had on the subject of Condrieu- about 12 sentences. I learned 3 key facts: Viognier is the grape of Condrieu, it ain't cheap, and I'd soon be moving to the Rhone if I wanted to learn much more.

I frantically completed my course work and research for my Master's in enology at Davis, immersed myself in everything Rhone, and applied for a scholarship that was being offered by the Franco-American chamber of commerce. The degree "allowed" me to start re-paying my student loans, the Rhone immersion kept me smiling, and the scholarship was my ticket to France.

While apprenticing anywhere producers would let me- from Beaujolais to Provence, I also spent a good bit of time organizing climate and soil information. Everything I found indicated that Syrah, Grenache, Viognier and Roussanne made more than mere sense for California. The information left me puzzling over how we ever planted Chardonnay from Ukiah all the way down to Temecula. I would have plenty of time to puzzle as my next 6 years would be spent 'picking up sticks'.

Vines are propagated from vines. Just as it's tough to get a chicken without an egg and vice versa, it's impossible to get vines without vines. Because there was essentially no Grenache Noir, Roussanne, or Viognier in California at that time, and the clones of Syrah were few and poorly documented, I would need a lot of time to make cuttings. Starting with only a handful of various selections, it took years to generate commercial quantities of the vines I wanted to grow.

Spending all those years in green houses, I lost touch with reality. At a time when there were fewer than 50 acres of Viognier in the world, I propagated 32. Perhaps the only wine more obscure than Viognier was varietally labeled Roussanne. Our release of pure Roussanne in 1991 was the second such wine produced globally and the first from the United States (what exactly Bergeron is remains in doubt).

Since reds take more cellar time, I originally hit the road pouring my two whites-Viognier and Roussanne. If I had not been so young and brash, I might have been discouraged by the barrage of folks who kept telling me that consumers haven't heard of these wines, and no one can pronounce Viognier (Vee-own-yeah is easy to say; tough to read. Anything with the word So-veenyown; as in Cabernet So-veen-yown is truly hard to say).

What I really discovered on my journeys was that compared to the amount of wine I had, there was an abundance of progressively minded folk all over the world open to the idea that delicious is more important than varietal recognition. I am forever indebted to the core group of courageous and passionate wine buyers and sommeliers who championed Alban Vineyards in the early years. The people who were driven to hand-sell and promote wines that in and of themselves were of little economic significance to them. These 'missionaries' nurtured the fledgling California rhone movement, and with it took our wine trade from black and white into the age of color. I am delighted to see Rhone varieties flourish throughout California and rather overwhelmed by Robert Parker's declaration in The Wine Advocate that I am "...the spiritual and qualitative leader of the movement..."

Many of our original customers are now my good friends. Some I have even worked with to help start wineries of their own focusing on Rhone varieties. Two moved to San Luis Obispo County to help organize Hospice Du Rhone- the world's largest international celebration of these wines, visit www.hospicedurhone.org. As the Rhone renaissance became truly international and significantly rooted in what happened here in California, perhaps the greatest surprise in my life thus far was how the story came full circle. In 2005 I was made an honorary citizen and Decurion of Cote Rotie and Condrieu. The sons and daughters of the producers who were terrified about my plans to develop their then threatened varieties internationally, believed that my efforts had actually accelerated recognition and interest in their own wineries. Being presented this distinction before the leaders of these key northern Rhone appellations, on their home turf, remains somewhat surreal to this day.

In some ways my life is still measured in sticks. As more people have discovered the world beyond chocolate and vanilla, there has been an explosion in plantings of these varieties. Alban Vineyards has provided a large portion of the cuttings needed to see California's Viognier acreage go from 0 to over 2000, and Syrah has jumped from a few hundred acres to more than 17,000. Grenache will be next. But the story has gone way beyond change and diversity. Of the 22 wineries in California included in Robert Parker's The World' Greatest Wine Estates, 10 currently make at least one 'Rhone', and 2 produce almost exclusively wines from Rhone varieties. While we Rhone producers may forever be 'garage bands' at heart, our stage is now very much international.

Alban Vineyards – New Releases

2023 ALBAN VINEYARDS VIOGNIER CENTRAL COAST

Price: $35.00                     Your Price: $30.80                Quantity in Stock: 12

The Central Coast bottling that is often more than 75% from Alban’s estate vineyard.  It showcases the forward heady stone fruit of this variety.  It is fermented and aged entirely in stainless steel and bottled early. This wine has a pretty bouquet of lychee nuts, white peach and apricot with pretty floral notes.  Has a creamy texture on the tongue with a good amount of rich ripe tree fruits finishing with a touch of white pepper spice and pretty floral notes along with a firm hand of acidity keeping things fresh.  Classic central Coast Viognier.   Finish 40+  Excellent

2021 ALBAN VINEYARDS 'PATRINA' SYRAH EDNA VALLEY, USA

Price: $65.00                     Your Price: $57.20                Quantity in Stock: 12

Patrin is a Roma word for leaf and grass blades.  We wanted a romani association for this wine because it is not a wine from a ‘place’ so much as one shaped by us; our traditions and joys.  The Roma have a very strong and romantic culture, but they are not tied to any particular location.

By mounding up patrin in specific configurations called Patrina, Romani mark secret trails that their comrades can follow to special gathering places.  Under the right circumstances, Patrina lead these kindred spirits to wonderful celebrations underscored by wine and song.

Our vineyards are a patchwork of isolated soil types that you may recognize as Reva, Lorraine, Seymour’s and Pandora (very much wines of a place).  Between and in route to these well healed sites are vineyards that are not so obviously distinct.  We have blended these disparate and ‘disenfranchised’ blocks into a single wine we call Patrina.  Like the Romani trails from which Patrina derives its name, we hope these bottles lead you to some great merriment, or more.

While the grapes for Patrina are raised with the same detail and attentiveness as the rest of our vineyards, and then fermented open top with indigenous yeast, gentle pump overs and a few punch downs once soft, it is bottled unfined and unfiltered after ‘just’ 22 months in barrel to preserve its youthful exuberance.  All the density and concentration folks have come to expect from our reds with black and blue fruits, mineral notes, and flowers.

2019 ALBAN VINEYARDS SYRAH REVA ALBAN ESTATE VINEYARD

Price: $125.00                   Your Price: $110.00                Quantity in Stock: 12

In the earliest years of Alban Vineyards, I lived in a rented green house propagating cuttings.  When I wasn’t making vines, I was busy looking for the future home for all the vines in my nursery.  I spent 7 years looking at possible vineyard sites all over the Central Coast of California.  Whenever I found a promising site, I negotiated a due diligence period during which I could do soil and site analysis.  While mapping out the last piece I’d ever evaluate (because it was the one that turned into Alban Vineyards) I happened to name a little ridge on one part of the ranch ‘Reva’s Ridge’.  It was a play on words incorporating the name of a Kentucky Derby winner: Riva’s Ridge, and my mother’s name which is Reva.  Clearly I’d been in the sun too long and I will admit that I am a total ‘mama’s boy’.  Years later, after calling the vineyard Reva and tagging the first barrel as Reva, I embraced the obvious: I named the wine Reva.

The grapes that go into Reva (97-100% Syrah with the balance Viognier) are from neutral sandy soils and portions of ranch that are chalky and quite alkaline.  This combination makes for a wine with dark color, concentrated flavors of black fruits, fennel, and graphite.  Perhaps the most distinguishing note of Reva is a unique iodine and oyster shell aromatic that is unlike anything in our other Syrahs.   The wine is aged 3.5 years in barrels before bottling unfined and unfiltered.

Older Vintages of Alban Vineyard wines on SALE!

2013 ALBAN VINEYARDS LORRAINE ESTATE SYRAH EDNA VALLEY, USA

Price: $265.00                   Your Price: $233.20                Quantity in Stock: 1

(98 points) Very deep purple-black colored, the 2013 Syrah Lorraine Vineyard emerges from the glass with the most beguiling floral and lifted black fruit notes imaginable! Strutting an incredibly sexy fragrance of roses, chocolate-covered cherries, wild blueberries, sandalwood and eucalyptus with underlying Chinese five spice, hoisin and Sichuan pepper suggestions, it hits the palate with full-bodied, rich, sultry black fruit preserves and menthol laced flavors, supported by very fine, pixelated tannins and finishing with incredible length and depth. (LPB) (12/2017)  Wine Advocate

2013 ALBAN VINEYARDS SEYMOUR'S VINEYARD SYRAH EDNA VALLEY, USA

Price: $295.00                   Your Price: $236.00                Quantity in Stock: 1

(97 points) Very deep purple-black in color, the 2013 Syrah Seymour's Vineyard slowly unfurls with coaxing to reveal wonderfully pure, freshly crushed black cherries, black berries and black currants notes with underlying suggestions of cloves, espresso, chargrill and violets plus wafts of incense, sauteed herbs and chocolate box. The powerful, muscular, full-bodied palate continues on the theme of purity with incredible delineation, offering layers of black fruits and savory notions and a ripe, rounded tannins texture, finishing with epic length. (LPB)  (12/2017)  Wine Advocate

2012 ALBAN VINEYARDS SEYMOUR'S VINEYARD SYRAH EDNA VALLEY, USA

Price: $295.00                   Your Price: $259.60                Quantity in Stock: 2

(98 points) The 2012 Syrah Seymour's Vineyard comes from a tiny, windswept parcel at the top of John's estate. Its inky black color is followed by sensational notes of black olives, smoked earth, charcoal and perfectly ripe dark fruits. Deep, rich and concentrated, it's one of the more focused, pretty examples of this cuvee out there. Nevertheless, it has plenty of tannin and will keep for two decades in the cellar. (JD)  (8/2016)  Wine Advocate

2012 ALBAN VINEYARDS REVA ESTATE SYRAH EDNA VALLEY, USA

Price: $215.00                   Your Price: $189.20                Quantity in Stock: 1

(97 points) There are 750 cases (which means good yields for John, although any normal person would call 1.5-1.75 tons per acre financial suicide) of the 2012 Syrah Reva Alban Estate Vineyard, and it's a terrific vintage for this cuvee. Elegant, pretty, even finesse driven, with its classic marine and salty bouquet of smoke, purple fruits, olives and violets, this full-bodied Syrah has no hard edges, integrated acidity and a great finish. It's reasonably approachable now, but deserves 2-4 years of cellaring. (JD)  (8/2016) Wine Advocate

2010 ALBAN VINEYARDS LORRAINE ESTATE SYRAH EDNA VALLEY, USA

Price: $265.00                   Your Price: $233.20                Quantity in Stock: 4

(97 Points) Sporting the same inky color as the Reva, the 2010 Syrah Lorraine Vineyard has terrific elegance and purity in its sweet black raspberry fruits, crushed flowers, creme de cassis and subtle smoked meat characteristics. Seriously concentrated and backward on the palate (this cuvee normally is the most approachable of the lineup), with a rich, full mouthfeel, a big mid-palate and a great finish, give bottles 2-3 years and enjoy through 2030.  Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

2004 ALBAN VINEYARDS LORRAINE ESTATE SYRAH EDNA VALLEY, USA

Price: $495.00                   Sale Price: $425.00                Quantity in Stock: 1

(95 points) The 2004 Syrah Reva is classic in style, with its iodine, olive and salty, marine-like character front and center. Coming from the gravelly, sandy clay loam soils on the estate, it shows more textbook Syrah character with air (very northern Rhone-like) and has first rate complexity, gorgeous dark fruit and brilliant overall purity. Showing almost no evolution, with full-bodied richness, fine tannin and a balanced, fresh and lengthy profile, it will continue to drink beautifully for another decade or more. (JD)  (4/2014) Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

2004 ALBAN VINEYARDS REVA ESTATE SYRAH EDNA VALLEY

Price: $185.00                   Your Price: $162.80                Quantity in Stock: 1

(95 points) The 2004 Syrah Reva is classic in style, with its iodine, olive and salty, marine-like character front and center. Coming from the gravelly, sandy clay loam soils on the estate, it shows more textbook Syrah character with air (very northern Rhone-like) and has first rate complexity, gorgeous dark fruit and brilliant overall purity. Showing almost no evolution, with full-bodied richness, fine tannin and a balanced, fresh and lengthy profile, it will continue to drink beautifully for another decade or more. (JD)  (4/2014) Wine Advocate

2002 ALBAN VINEYARDS REVA SYRAH ALBAN ESTATE

Price: $195.00                   Your Price: $171.60                Quantity in Stock: 1

(95 Points)  Tasted just after bottling, it was performing spectacularly well. Its opaque purple color is accompanied by a classic bouquet of creme de cassis, blackberries, and touches of new oak, tar, and sweet leather. It is a spectacular, dense, opulent, full-bodied effort with good minerality as well as structure.  Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

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