Californian wines

Adam Lechmere sometimes wishes they all could be Californian wines – even if you do have to be prepared to pay a little more for the privilege

Looking down the long list of award-winning wines from Decanter’s latest California cabernet sauvignon tasting, it’s quickly obvious why a), these are among the best wines in the world and b), you probably haven’t heard of half of them.

Recent vintages have shown California is at the zenith of fine winemaking, and you’ll fi nd the best expressions of cabernet sauvignon in the world being produced in the lovely Napa valley and its neighbouring areas. These are wines that are redolent of their terroir, laced with blackcurrant and mint, herbs, green pepper, perfumed oak, cassis…

The catch is, you’ve got to search out these wines, and when you do find them, blow the dust out of your wallet. Of the five-star wines in that Decanter tasting the cheapest, the Alexander Valley Cabernet from Sebastiani (about £20), got an almost-perfect 19.7 points out of 20. However, its importers tell me its not currently retailed in this country. After that, £45 is the next cheapest and £115 the most expensive - the superb Ridge Monte Bello. Of 126 wines tasted, just 13 are under £20, and only one is under £10.

This is the crux of the problem: you can buy California very, very cheap, or very expensive, but the £6.99 to £9.99 shelves where most of us, rightly or wrongly, do our everyday wine shopping, are bare.

There are many reasons for the dearth of mid-range California wine. First, they have the world’s biggest wine market on their doorstep and don’t need to export. Second, Americans tend to like wines that are bigger, fruitier and more alcoholic than Europeans are used to. Third, Americans spend more on wine: $20 is typical – way more than our £5.99. When I asked Cambridge wine merchant and California specialist Noel Young what he carried on the ‘good value’ front (quality wines under £15), he said he wasn’t sure he could find that much.

But, when pressed, he came up with a pretty good list of wines that I’d be happy to recommend. My criteria for including a wine in this column are always the same: it must be excellent in its class, and anything above £10 must have a real sense of place. So while for price reasons I can’t list the Ridge Monte Bello cabernet – indeed there are few available cabernets within a decent price bracket – any pinot from the brilliant Saintsbury is a wonderful introduction to what California can produce, and gives burgundy at that price a run for its money.

You may have to go a little way out of your comfort zone, but just remember how many American products you’re happy to cough up serious sums for. Here’s a useful exercise: tot up your expenditure, including popcorn, from your last trip to the multiplex to see the latest Hollywood blockbuster. When your eyes have stopped watering, compare that with £15 for a bottle of wine made with care and attention. Suddenly you realise what a relative idea good value is.