Raj Parr and Phelan Farm
A few months back a sales rep stopped in to taste us on a bottle that set us hard on our backsides - a blend of Mencia, Trousseau and Palomino grown deep in San Luis Obispo in California. The wine was brilliant - pure and juicy and seemingly weightless. I'd never have seen this one coming but when the wine's origins were explained, everything immediately began to make sense. It was the first commercial release from Phelan Farm, which is today owned and operated by the one and only Raj Parr. Today we are very excited to offer all the remaining cuvees that the estate has to offer.
Phelan is tucked a few miles inland from the Pacific in San Luis Obispo Country on the Central Coast and though the Phelan family have been farming there since the mid-nineteenth century, it wasn't until 2007 that Greg Phelan planted some own-rooted Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. From the time he planted his vines Greg eschewed pesticides and herbicides and tillage, preferring to maintain a healthy cover crop. However, in the last five years since Raj has taken over the stewardship of the farm, he has built on Phelan's approach and instituted a regenerative farming program. He has eliminated sulfur and copper in the vineyards, instead treating them with a variety of homemade treatments from beneficial plants, Pacific kelp and milk. Everything is either grown on the property, foraged or purchased from other local farmers. They sow a vibrant cover crop roughly every two years, a selection of grains, radishes, peas and other legumes and this is in turn managed by sheep. In addition to grapes a half acre of old varieties of apples was planted in 2021 to further diversify the farm's biological footprint.
These are not the only innovations in this reinvention of the property. Apart from a small percentage of the original Chardonnay and Pinot Noir plantings, everything has been grafted over to varieties that were chosen for the fascinating intersection of steep and ancient volcanic hills just a stones' throw from the Pacific. The majority of the vineyards are dedicated to red and white grapes from the Jura and Savoie, as well as Mencia from the Ribeira Sacra. Raj himself recently hosted a small trade tasting and the wines were both fascinating and delicious.
In addition to the Phelan estate wines today, there are a handful of bottlings from fruit farmed further afield. The Scythian wines are from the Lopez Vineyard in Cucamonga Valley just outside Los Angeles and not only are they delightful but the story is fascinating. I am indebted to our friend Abe Schoener of Scholium Project. He and Raj got involved with Lopez Vineyard at the same time and pick their fruit together and he was able to give me some background. The site was planted in 1918, in advance of Prohibition, to take advantage of the provision that allowed for home winemaking. Until repeal, over 400 acres of fruit was sold almost entirely to Italian immigrant families in New York, Philadelphia and other East Coast hubs. After Prohibition, commerce shifted, with the fruit going to bulk wine production and that has stayed the case since. What is remarkable about the site is that 100 years later, these are own-rooted vines (in deep sandy soils) that are not irrigated, farmed organically and go untreated even with copper or sulfur. Abe says that the arid conditions allow for two passes a year - pruning and picking. The vineyard is otherwise self-sustaining!
Lastly, there are two wonderful ciders, from organically farmed apples from Watsonville, up the coast, and Phelan grapes. These are delicious and also deeply serious ciders - savory and vinous and perfect for fall.
Everything on offer today is bottled without any sulfur and all together, the lineup here today represents some of the most exciting work being done in California and we hope that you will take advantage. The quantities, as is often the case, are tiny - so act fast!!
-Sam Ehrlich
