Blackjack Ranch

Took the night off tonight. Sometimes I love a recession! Particularly when it affords me the opportunity to spend a few hours with a friend I rarely get to see over a glass of wine. My good friend Matty works a bazillion hours a day and twelve days a week at a very popular entertainment television show that doesn't afford him much time to spend socializing. I was very happy to hook up with him for a visit.

Matty had a rough day today. We started out with a shot of Orinoco Rum. God love a rum that doesn't make you cringe! I try not to make it a habit to shoot liquor, but you can't let a friend do it alone and he was in definite need.

I popped a bottle of Stonestreet 'Black Cougar Ridge' Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 for Matty. He prefers non-acidic wines so I tend to lean toward New World wines when he visits. It was unfortunately slightly corked. At these moments, I curse the day I ever learned what corkiness tasted (or didn't taste) like. Another one bites the dust...

It prompted me to revisit a winery I used to support quite a bit: Blackjack Ranch. This is a small Santa Barbara winery located on Alamo Pintado Road just south of downtown Los Olivos. Roger Wisted is the proprietor and winemaker. Having made a good dollop of money creating the "California Blackjack" known as 22, he bought this winery and named it accordingly. He's a big Francophile and has been trying to make his wines in a similar style. Unfortunately, Santa Barbara does not lend itself to particularly French-styled wines.

Blackjack Ranch was one of the few wine clubs I ever joined in my fledgling stages of wine interest and early years spent in California wine country. While many people I took care of in restaurants said they were treated rudely in their tasting room, I always had a great experience there and found the wines quite enjoyable. I still took Robert Parker's opinion to heart at the time and he was a Blackjack Ranch fan. So, I blew some of my hard earned cash each year supporting Roger, as well as convincing my manager to pick up the wine so I could sell it in my restaurant.

I ditched the wine club years ago due to a small disagreement regarding their 2003 Harmonie. It was the only wine he'd ever made that Parker gave a "classic" score (95-97, to be exact) and Roger refused to send it to his wine club since he would have to discount it. As a wine club member, I was pissed, to say the least. He also doubled the price on the wine. I finally saw what all of the nay-sayers of Blackjack Ranch had seen. So, I've never purchased a bottle of Blackjack Ranch since. OH - except that I found that particular wine which he would not discount on close-out at Wine House a year after it was released. I picked one up, I regret to say, but I have a small OCD about things I can't have.

Tonight we opened the previous vintage: the 2002 Harmonie. This is a Bordeaux-styled blend, Cabernet Sauvignon dominant. I've held this bottle since its release, never having had it since it came in the wine club. I have to say, I'm kind of impressed. It reminded me a little of the 2003 Chateau Gloria from St. Julien upon opening, with a dirty graphite quality under the red/black fruits. Also, an interesting minty/herbal tone that is consistent with Santa Barbara Bordeaux varietals. Dark-roasted coffee, too. After an hour of air, it fell into a more typical Santa Barbara style, but that first hour offered a fair amount of pleasure. The structure was still fairly firm and this wine seems to have a decent life ahead of it. At the $50 price he charged through the winery, I think it's overpriced. The 2003 Chateau Gloria was only $30 at the same time and a better wine.

All-in-all, I still like the wines Roger makes. I think they're overpriced, unfortunately. And he, more than anyone, tried to ride the Sideways train. One of his labels was featured on a quarter of the screen for barely a moment in the film. That doesn't mean he didn't frame and hang the frames in his tasting room to promote the winery. It's business, right. Like not offering your best wine to your long-time wine club supporters because you'd have to discount it. Business, too.

So, I continue to drink the Blackjack Ranch right out of my cellar over time. Each time, I feel like I'm putting one more nail in the coffin and it sort of makes me a little happy. Is that wrong? I don't think so. Wine is about relationships, too. I think we've all experienced that at some point and some level. I hope you understand this small rant and have a point of reference in your own life for it.

And by no means do I intend to slander Roger Wisted or Blackjack Ranch in offering my experience and opinion. As with everything, I hope you make up your own mind, having tasted his wines for yourself.