The Wine Fairy

It was a Rombauer power hour at The Wine Authority last Tuesday. A Rombauer Vineyards rep stopped by to pour a whole slew of their wines to a thirsty afternoon crowd. Picks included their well-known Napa Valley Cabernet, along with a super-premium version of the Carneros Chardonnay and the single-estate “El Dorado” Zinfandel.

(Apologies for the stock photos in this post. Usually I grab a couple of my own pictures at the tasting, but this time it was notes only. I swear, I’m terrible at being an Insta-girl because as soon as the first wine is poured, I tend to put away my phone and forget that it even exists.)

The Wine Authority regularly hosts free tastings from local and visiting winery reps. As a student, going to the tastings is helping me to get a handle on typical styles and keep up with current offerings from well-known producers.

Members pay a modest monthly fee to be able to drop in on tastings weekly. I usually don’t know what the wines are going to be until I get there–but often it’s much nicer stuff than I drink at home. Members also get a steep discount on by-the-glass and to-go purchases, which easily pays for the membership after just a visit or two. (Yep, this is a shameless plug for my favorite local wine club! You can find more details on their website.)

About the Wines

I was familiar with Rombauer’s Carneros Chardonnay and their Cab–both are pretty common on restaurant wine lists–but the other bottles were new to me.

Rombauer also has a “new” Sauvignon Blanc. They have been making it for about 10 years, but it just became available in Texas so people here are talking about it and menuing it. I personally do not get that excited about a Napa Sauv Blanc–for a lot of wineries, it just feels like sort of an obligatory, trend-chasing exercise–but I tasted it with wine friends last month and the consensus was that it’s a solid summer sipper.

So, here are my notes on the wines (prices are local retail):

Rombauer Proprietor Selection Carneros Chardonnay (2022)

The Proprietor Selection is Rombauer’s top-level Chard. It’s blended from the best juice from each year’s vintage, which then goes into the winemaker’s favorite individual barrels. (Wait, they have favorite barrels? Do the barrels have pet names? I gotta know!)

Wine enthusiasts, as a rule, love to hate on legacy producer of big old Chards. The words they use are particularly not nice. If Rombauer Chardonnay was my bestie, I’d be like, “Hey girl, looking good! By the way, maybe don’t google yourself or read the comments on your photos? On a bad day…or really ever?”

Reddit’s r/wine commenters refer to the entry-level Rombauer as an “unabashed f*ck off oak and butter bomb” and “cougar juice,” just to highlight two choice burns. The hate has been flowing even stronger since the E&J Gallo acquisition (more on that in a second).

Whatever–I thought this wine was a treat. It’s from the Napa side of Carneros, I was told, which give higher potentional alcohol and riper-flavored grapes. The Proprietor Selection has much less obvious vanilla and butter flavors than Rombauer’s higher-volume Carneros Chard. It’s also got a rich creamy texture, delicate citrus and florals, a mouthful of luscious stone fruit and pineapple sorbet, and refreshing acidity. 9 months in 50% new French and American oak. $85

Rombauer Napa Valley Merlot (2022)

Is anyone drinking any f*cking Merlot? It seems that they are. Rombauer reports that this vintage was a staff favorite and is now sold out. (The 2023 is due out soon.) Fresh and light in its body and tannins, this wine is characterized by bright red plum and raspberry flavors with some leafiness and sweet spice. 81% Merlot, 12% Petit Verdot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon. 17 months in 35% new French oak. $67

Rombauer Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (2022)

Ripe and full-bodied Napa Cab featuring black plum, blackberries, vanilla, spice, and high alcohol. Smelled some green herbs but didn’t taste them. The finish is dry but dessert-y with fig paste, chocolate, and dulce de leche. 88% Cabernet, 8% Petit Verdot, 4% Cabernet Franc. 17 months in 75% new French oak. $59 at the tasting–it usually retails for around $80, though.

Rombauer Zinfandel (2022)

Vanilla upfront, blackberry, dusty baking spices, earth, high tannins. The Zinfandels are from Rombauer’s Sierra Foothills vineyard sites. Very sturdy alcohol at 15.9%, but it still has a touch of sweetness. (Yeah…big Cali Zins are basically Port for people who don’t know they like Port yet.)

I enjoy this style–it was my go-to when I first began exploring red wines. It’s a good typical example, but it was the least memorable thing on this tasting. 92% Zinfandel and 8% Petit Verdot. $35

Rombauer Twin Rivers “El Dorado” Zinfandel (2022)

The “Twin Rivers” single-vineyard bottling is 100% Zinfandel, but it showed more range for me than the blend. (Shrug.) Creamy nose with coconut yogurt, black cherries and cherry liqueur. Abundant red fruit flavors including red cherry and cranberry, followed up with peppery rhubarb and thyme/sage. A really interesting Zin that’s neither a spice cake nor a booze bomb. (Actually, it is also packin’ at 15.9% ABV but you might not know from tasting it.) 10 months in American (10% new) and French oak. $57

Am I Still Allowed To Like This?

You can’t talk about Rombauer without someone bringing up the 800-lb gorilla in the room. (Yes, it’s Gallo.)

After a few decades as an independent Napa winery, Rombauer was gobbled up by the multi-national beverage company in the summer of 2023. The fear–the assumption, actually–is that anytime such a purchase happens, the wines will inevitably start to suck.

As a beer fan, I understand that concern. In the past decade, several of Texas’s native breweries have been swallowed by huge beer conglomerates (or worse, private equity firms). They tend to latch on to the most recognizeable labels + the blandest recipes, and then kill the rest of the lineup. It’s rarely good news for anyone’s tastebuds.

But wine has a longer production pipeline than beer, so I can’t weigh in on Rombauer’s fate at this early date. Tuesday’s wines were all from the 2022 vintage, so it was only family-owned winery grapes in those bottles.

Anyway, the cold hard truth is that Gallo owns over 100 wine companies–good, bad, and mediocre.

Take a moment and refresh your memory on their brand portfolio, if you haven’t done so in a while. Alamos, Allegrini, André, Apothic, Arbor Mist, Argiano…and that’s just the A’s. They are in every store and every restaurant in the entire world. You could drive yourself crazy trying to avoid Gallo labels and miss out on some quality wines the process.

Actually, it’s not that hard to avoid Arbor Mist…unless you’re partying with my in-laws at Christmas. (Just kidding, sis, if you’re reading this. Love you!)

One Last Sip

Classic, crowd-pleasing California wines. Love ’em or hate ’em–the market is huge, and wine people oughtta know ’em.

Rombauer, as a brand, is both a little before my time and a bit over budget. And so, it was a welcome experience to try a whole chunk of their portfolio in one sitting. I found all the wines perfectly drinkable–if a little pricey for what you get.

Review disclosure: I was not compensated or provided any free products for this review (except for the tasting included with my paid membership at The Wine Authority). Opinions expressed on The Wine Fairy blog are entirely my own.