The redoubtable Beeswax Vineyard in the Arroyo Seco of Monterey County has the very singular habit of producing white grapes all of which, coincidentally enough, express the unique scent of …well, beeswax. Along with beeswax, one apprehends the rather discreet scent of white flowers and perhaps pineapple. But while the scent of Picpoul is subtle, one is forcefully struck by the wine’s bracing acidity and its unique savoriness (who’s you-mami?); there is a discernible quality of brininess that makes this wine an absolutely perfect match for all manner of nutriment of the crustacean and molluscan variety." - Randall Grahm, Winemaker/Founder
Picpoul translates literally to “lip stinger”. It is a high-acid, savory, white, rustic grape variety, especially well-suited for seafood. Thrifty (which is to say it overcrops like nobody’s business), extremely high-yielding, the vines must be aggressively thinned for uniform ripeness and flavor intensity.
Harvest is a careful decision made by carefully monitoring the ripeness over weeks of sampling and tasting. Hand-harvested, whole cluster pressed to stainless steel tanks. Cool fermentation to preserve aromatics and complexity.
Specs
Varietal Blend: 88% Picpoul, 12% Vermentino
Appellation: Arroyo Seco, Central Coast, CA
Alcohol: 10.5%
Label Art: Super elegant hand drawing (to help with pronunciation) by Wendy Cook
While Bonny Doon Vineyard began with the (in retrospect) foolish attempt to replicate Burgundy in California, Randall Grahm realized early on that he would have far more success creating more distinctive and original wines working with Rhône varieties in the Central Coast of California. The key learning here (achieved somewhat accidentally but fortuitously) was that in a warm, Mediterranean climate, it is usually blended wines that are most successful. In 1986, Bonny Doon Vineyard released the inaugural vintage (1984) of Le Cigare Volant, an homage to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and this continues as the winery’s flagship/starship brand.
Since then, Bonny Doon Vineyard has enjoyed a long history of innovation – the first to truly popularize Rhône grapes in California, to successfully work with cryo-extraction for sundry “Vins de Glacière, the first to utilize microbullage in California, the first to popularize screwcaps for premium wines, and, quite significantly, the first to embrace true transparency in labeling with its ingredient labeling initiative. The upside of all of this activity has brought an extraordinary amount of creativity and research to the California wine scene; the doon-side, as it were, was perhaps an ever so slight inability to focus, to settle doon, if you will, into a single, coherent direction.1
Bonny Doon Vineyard grew and grew with some incredibly popular brands (Big House, Cardinal Zin, and Pacific Rim) until it became the 28th largest winery in the United States. Randall came to the realization – better late than Nevers – that he had found that the company had diverged to a great extent from his original intention of producing soulful, distinctive and original wines, and that while it was amusing to be able to get restaurant reservations almost anywhere (the only real tangible perk he was able to discern from the vast scale of the operation), it was time to take a decisive course correction. With this in mind, he sold off the larger brands (Big House and Cardinal Zin) in 2006 and Pacific Rim in 2010.
In the intervening years, the focus of the winery has been to spend far more time working with vineyards in improving their practices, as well as on making wines with a much lighter touch – using indigenous yeast whenever possible, and more or less eschewing vinous maquillage, (at least not to Tammy Faye Bakker-like levels). Recently, Randall has purchased an extraordinary property in San Juan Bautista, which he calls Popelouchum (the Mutsun word for “paradise,”) where he is profoundly intent on producing singular wines expressive of place. There are also very grand plans afoot to plant a dry-farmed Estate Cigare vineyard. #staydooned.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2022 Bonny Doon Vineyard Picpoul - $40 = 33.32%
Off to the market for green stuff…
Enthusiast:
91 points. The brand’s founder, Randall Grahm, was one of the earliest proponents of this lip-smacking variety, and the grape keep delivering exciting results. Aromas of hollowed-out pear, white melon, Mandarin orange zest and white stone lead into a palate of white flowers, coconut flakes and crushed rocks. — Matt Kettmann 10/1/23
Decanter:
91 points. The inestimable Randall Grahm has long been a poet of Picpoul, among other things, and this lovely example is loaded with freshness and complexity. The aromatics are light and lovely, with crushed chalk and white flower coming to the fore. The zippy acidity soars in this ‘lip stinger’, which clocks in at only 10.5% alcohol. The palate is energetic and electric with grapefruit pith, unripe apricot and Key lime. Though the acid commands attention, a notable texture shines through as this wine finishes slightly savoury. Delightful. (CP) 4/23
We popped open the 2023 Bonny Doon Vineyard Picpoul on a casual Friday night with our neighbors, ready to kick off the weekend with a light white wine and a solid spread of Manchego, Brie, prosciutto, and salami.
The wine poured a very pale, almost translucent color. First aromas gave away fresh apple and pear, with a bright and crisp nose. The wine delivered high acidity on the first sip, but despite the lively start, it came across a little flat on the palate and lacked the layered depth we were hoping for.
None of us had tried a Picpoul before, so we didn’t know exactly what to expect. That said, it paired well with the food. The acidity worked nicely against the richness of the Brie and Manchego, and the wine stayed refreshing throughout the evening. The group consensus: this is an easy wine for a casual night with neighbors, especially when charcuterie is involved.
At its retail price of $18, it would be a tough sell to me. But at the Casemates offer of under $7 a bottle, it’s a solid choice for stocking up on summer sippers. If you ground yourself based on the double 91 reviews, that’s a tough expectation in my opinion. You’ll be in great shape if you ground yourself at a case of wine at $6.67 per bottle!
@TimW I just now looked at both the 2022 and 2023 cellartracker notes and yes I agree with them. That said, $6.67 (classmates) and $18.00 (retail) are very different prices! Hard to be disappointed at $7, it gets the job done
@kaolis@Ten9Eight Alice let me know that even though the 2022 is the wine in the offer, that for whatever reason I was being sent a 2023 bottle. So anyone who bought should be getting 2022
@kaolis@Ten9Eight@WCCWineGirl@Winedavid59 eek, I read your comment and was thinking “why is he saying this, it’s right there?” And then I just re-read my review and see that when I copied and pasted my review into the browser I appear to have entirely missed the first sentence that stated this. Sorry about that, hopefully they are not too much different. Based on the 2023, unless something was way off on 2022, I still assume it’s a reasonable value wine at sub $7.
@kaolis@Ten9Eight@WCCWineGirl@Winedavid59 i didn’t receive the bottle until Friday evening so it was a pretty rapid turnaround on the consumption / posting. Usually I put a lot more time in, try it over multiple days, etc
2022 Bonny Doon Vineyard Picpoul, Central Coast
91 Points, Wine Enthusiast
Tasting Notes
Specs
Vineyard
What’s Included
4-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
Not for sale on winery website, $216/case MSRP
About The Winery
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, May 5 - Wednesday, May 7
2022 Bonny Doon Vineyard Picpoul
4 bottles for $39.99 $10/bottle + $2/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $79.99 $6.67/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations.)
2022 Bonny Doon Vineyard Picpoul - $40 = 33.32%
Sounds tasty and d*mn near giving it away… should be fresh, yes?
Off to the market for green stuff…
Enthusiast:
91 points. The brand’s founder, Randall Grahm, was one of the earliest proponents of this lip-smacking variety, and the grape keep delivering exciting results. Aromas of hollowed-out pear, white melon, Mandarin orange zest and white stone lead into a palate of white flowers, coconut flakes and crushed rocks. — Matt Kettmann 10/1/23
Decanter:
91 points. The inestimable Randall Grahm has long been a poet of Picpoul, among other things, and this lovely example is loaded with freshness and complexity. The aromatics are light and lovely, with crushed chalk and white flower coming to the fore. The zippy acidity soars in this ‘lip stinger’, which clocks in at only 10.5% alcohol. The palate is energetic and electric with grapefruit pith, unripe apricot and Key lime. Though the acid commands attention, a notable texture shines through as this wine finishes slightly savoury. Delightful. (CP) 4/23
fwiw
Not even waiting for Rats today. I need to work on my white wine skills and summer is coming. In for a 4-pack.
/giphy jingly-transient-sidewalk
/giphy charismatic-obese-cellar
2023 Bonny Doon Vineyard Picpoul (Central Coast)
We popped open the 2023 Bonny Doon Vineyard Picpoul on a casual Friday night with our neighbors, ready to kick off the weekend with a light white wine and a solid spread of Manchego, Brie, prosciutto, and salami.
The wine poured a very pale, almost translucent color. First aromas gave away fresh apple and pear, with a bright and crisp nose. The wine delivered high acidity on the first sip, but despite the lively start, it came across a little flat on the palate and lacked the layered depth we were hoping for.
None of us had tried a Picpoul before, so we didn’t know exactly what to expect. That said, it paired well with the food. The acidity worked nicely against the richness of the Brie and Manchego, and the wine stayed refreshing throughout the evening. The group consensus: this is an easy wine for a casual night with neighbors, especially when charcuterie is involved.
At its retail price of $18, it would be a tough sell to me. But at the Casemates offer of under $7 a bottle, it’s a solid choice for stocking up on summer sippers. If you ground yourself based on the double 91 reviews, that’s a tough expectation in my opinion. You’ll be in great shape if you ground yourself at a case of wine at $6.67 per bottle!
@stevenfarber527 one of the CellarTracker reviewers had very similar notes.
@TimW I just now looked at both the 2022 and 2023 cellartracker notes and yes I agree with them. That said, $6.67 (classmates) and $18.00 (retail) are very different prices! Hard to be disappointed at $7, it gets the job done
/giphy melodious-implicit-can
Have only tried Picpoul Blanc 1x, and while I don’t have any specific memories of it, I seem to remember enjoying it.
@chipgreen I’ve only had a few Frenchy bottlings, never expensive, usually low octane, generally pleasant.
A blurb about this wine, if it displays:
https://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/bonny-doon-picpoul-central-coast?check_logged_in=1
@chipgreen @kaolis
[it does]
I like Picpoul; I like low ABV. In for a case. (I’ve never tried American Picpoul)
/giphy joyful-respective-sneeze
Did someone say Picpoul? Love the variety and Randall always does a great job with it!!!
Hey @Winedavid59 @WCCWineGirl I just noticed rat had a bottle of 2023. Offer clearly states 2022, bottle shot and all. Can you confirm vintage?
@kaolis Well it’s selling out so guess it doesn’t matter…
@kaolis does seem often these days
@kaolis @Ten9Eight Alice let me know that even though the 2022 is the wine in the offer, that for whatever reason I was being sent a 2023 bottle. So anyone who bought should be getting 2022
@stevenfarber527 @Ten9Eight @wccwinegirl @winedavid59 Would have been nice for you to mention that…pretty much makes your rattage worthless…
@Ten9Eight Yes, seems details are not exactly top priority
@kaolis @Ten9Eight @WCCWineGirl @Winedavid59 eek, I read your comment and was thinking “why is he saying this, it’s right there?” And then I just re-read my review and see that when I copied and pasted my review into the browser I appear to have entirely missed the first sentence that stated this. Sorry about that, hopefully they are not too much different. Based on the 2023, unless something was way off on 2022, I still assume it’s a reasonable value wine at sub $7.
@kaolis @Ten9Eight @WCCWineGirl @Winedavid59 i didn’t receive the bottle until Friday evening so it was a pretty rapid turnaround on the consumption / posting. Usually I put a lot more time in, try it over multiple days, etc
Full cases sold out… can’t they squeeze out a few more?
@albany14us yes, please
@albany14us Indeed. I at least snagged a four pack, but was hoping for a case.
/giphy obtainable-simple-goose
Just bought the 4 pack. I’m excited to check out this refreshing 10.5% alcohol wine. I’ve never been disappointed by the Dooner Picpoul in the past.
@WineDocNapa How many times did you make it?
/giphy possible-aware-jackalope
Dang, sold out??
Too bad, so sad…