2013 RPM Wines El Dorado Gamay Noir

RPM started in 2010 as a collaboration between Nathan Roberts and Duncan Arnot Meyers, who together founded Arnot-Roberts winery, and Rajat Parr, a sommelier turned wine entrepreneur who is involved in numerous Central Coast wine enterprises. RPM’s goal was to produce outstanding Gamay Noir from vineyards in California’s Sierra foothills. The estate’s first release was the 2011 vintage, and it was available generally by mailing list only. RPM has announced, however, that the 2015 vintage was the last under the RPM label. Starting with the 2016 vintage the Gamay Noir sourced from the same Sierra foothills vineyards will be used to make Gamay at Arnot-Roberts and at Domaine de la Cote, a Santa Rita Hills estate acquired in 2013 by Parr, winemaker Sashi Moorman and an investor. Vinous called the RPM Gamays “notable.”

Sierra Foothills AVA is in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and it includes parts of eight counties. With total acreage of 2.6 million acres, and nearly 6,000 vineyard acres, it is one of the largest appellations in California. Wine grapes were planted in the foothills during the Gold Rush in the mid-19th century and the appellation was officially recognized in 1987. There are five sub-appellations within the Sierra Foothills region, and more than 100 wineries, most small and family-owned. Zinfandel is the most successful wine grape in this region, though Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay are also planted.