Napa's Place in the World

[Bill Klapp]

Given the current pricing, are Napa Cabernets the American Supertuscans? By that I mean that a whole bunch of people pay increasingly huge amounts of money for low-production wines which, by and large, do not have much of a track record, and seem styled to the popular taste.

[Randall Grahm]

Bill,

That is an absolutely brilliant analogy and completely on the mark. Moi, I have never understood the appeal of the super-Tuscans. (It seems that the Tuscans have decided that they don't want to be Tuscans anymore and want to be Bordelaise. But on the other side of the equation, there is also Castello di Rampollo Sammarco, which is pretty impressive stuff. I'm just not that convinced that overripe Cabernet grown anywhere is really the answer, nor 100% sangiovese tarted up in new wood is really all that attractive, especially for the long haul. RG.