The Rhône Rival We’ve Been Waiting For
- 95 pts Jeb Dunnuck95 pts Jeb Dunnuck
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2016 Keplinger Wines Lithic 750 ml
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America’s Answer to Châteauneuf-du-Pape
America’s Answer to Châteauneuf-du-Pape
In Wine Spectator’s 2014 cover story on Helen Keplinger, critic James Laube wrote that Keplinger’s eponymous label is “one of the most exciting and innovative wineries to emerge in California in years.” In a region that largely hangs it hat on high-end Cabernet—a grape that Keplinger has had soaring success with—she’s gone out of her way to seek out the most unique sites planted with Rhône varieties.
Today, Helen’s single-vineyard Rhône expressions under her namesake label are some of the best in the United States, if not the world. The 2016 Lithic is a classically styled Rhône blend that leans heavily on Grenache from the outstanding Shake Ridge Vineyard in Amador County. Bright ruby in color, it is lifted and aromatic with incredible density, but also delicacy. This is America’s answer to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and a stunning wine that will cellar beautifully for the next decade.