God Only Knows 2019

When Christophe Baron came across a piece of land strewn with large pebbles in the Walla Walla Valley in Oregon, he was immediately struck by the resemblance to the terroir of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and its famous rolled pebbles. Inspired by this discovery, it was hardly surprising that in 2001 he chose to plant Grenache, the emblematic grape variety of Châteauneuf, in his Armada vineyard. In 2005, he unveiled his cuvée "God only knows", so named because, although Grenache constitutes 90% of the wine, the remaining 10% comes from a secret grape variety. The vines, cultivated according to the principles of biodynamics and harvested by hand, mostly whole, benefit from traditional vinification and aging in neutral barrels and tuns. The resulting wine is remarkably complex, with a nose that intertwines aromas of rose petal, raspberry, strawberry, garrigue and sweet spices, evolving into a voluptuous and ripe palate, with present but delicate tannins. A smoky touch characterizes the finish of this wine, which promises to evolve beautifully over ten years in the cellar.

In the United States, 90% of the wine produced comes from California. It was the influx of gold prospectors to California that boosted the California wine industry in the mid-19th century, particularly in the Sonoma and Napa region. At the start of the 20th century, there were 800 wineries. From 1919 to 1933 Prohibition destroyed the vast majority of the California wine industry so that by 1933, only 140 wineries remained producing wine. It was only from 1960 that the wine industry began to recover from Prohibition and California was primarily known for the production of fortified wines (in the style of Port). It was also in the 1960s that some of the most famous estates were created (Mondavi, Heitz Wine Cellars, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, etc...). In 1976, a significant event took place: the legendary tasting competition better known as the "Judgment of Paris". He sees the greatest French wines opposing the new American wines. This May 24, an unexpected result shakes the world of wine, since to everyone's surprise, it is the United States which wins. However, this competition remains relatively unknown to the general public. Today, there is no doubt that the United States produces great wines. Even though California largely monopolizes the reputation of American wines with its excellent Zinfandels, the state of Oregon produces some of the best Pinot Noir in the world and the state of Washington offers excellent Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet-Sauvignon.