Cane & Fable

Cane & Fable is a joint project between two winemakers.  First, Curt Schalchlin who produces Sans Liege, a series of incredibly small production wines that he makes completely by himself. Secondly, you have Andrew Jones who produces the wines at Field Recordings, but is known as much as a grower as a winemaker.

Both Schalchlin and Jones work out of the California Central Coast, so this version of Cabernet Sauvignon coming from Paso Robles is a natural off shoot for both of them.

You might be wondering how a second label like this came about for each of them, given their schedules and the fact that both are already pressed for time.  That’s a question that I asked Curt when we sat down and tasted through a range of his wines at Berkeley’s acclaimed Bartavelle, over a couple of orders of Avocado toast. He said that both of the winemakers behind Cane & Fable wanted to produce a high quality Central Coast Cabernet Sauvignon, but neither wanted to add an entirely new wine, or range of wines to their brand.  Neither Sans Liege, nor Field Recordings feature a Cabernet, so both winemakers felt that having one on their site, would add an element of confusion especially given that neither focuses on Bordeaux varietals.

So here we have Cane & Fable, interesting label don’t you think? At first, I found the image of the insect rather strange, but when we’ve opened a bottle for friends, they’ve remarked that it’s both interesting and really, really well put together. Ok, maybe I’m just out of touch here.

Paso Robles doesn’t get enough credit for their Cabernet Sauvignon, that’s in large part because Napa Valley so dominates the California landscape and discourse around Cabernet.  Paso also has chosen, largely based on its own history within the wine industry, so focus on Rhone varietals like Grenache and Syrah. Cabernet is only now being granted some of the best vineyard spaces in new Paso Robles vineyards.  Cabernet also needs a more nuanced approach to growing than the east side of Paso Robles can offer, it’s simply too hot for great Cabernet there. West side Paso Robles though offers an abundance of good vineyard space for Cabernet, if vintners and growers are willing to devote the space to what’s affectionately called, the king of grapes.  As you might expect, in Paso, some simply are not. If you’re wondering, Cabernet is the king because it garners the highest prices per acre for the farmer, as well as for the vintner once it’s in the bottle.

Things are changing though, much like I mentioned when it comes to Anderson Valley and Pinot Noir, there’s always a weird guy in the room ready to try something outside the beaten path. Paso’s into their second decade of Cabernet production, which allows wines like this to be made; the winemakers found some extra grapes on the market and crafted a wine that holds up well, especially when you consider the price point, when compared to any others in California.

I’m typically pretty skeptical of these types of partnerships, after all the end result of these types of joint projects are only as good as the grapes going into them.  Many, too many in fact, are simply a couple of winemakers taking juice they cannot sell themselves and adding it to a second label, for some quick dollars.  Cane & Fable rises above those lower expectations and at a price point of $20, this is a nice house Cabernet Sauvignon.  We’re including our last few bottles of Cane & Fable Cabernet Sauvignon in the coming days for new wine club members. Reviews in the main stream press are non existent, largely because production is so small and Cane & Fable is only sold directly from the wineries themselves (let’s recall, their small staffing levels, winemakers only) or from a broker or two in larger markets. Wine Spectator especially won’t review these types of wines because they aren’t available to enough of their 3M+ readers and Wine Advocate doesn’t spend as much time in Paso as many would hope. Even on Cellar Tracker, there’s only 3 reviews for the wine across all vintages, but with an average score of 91.3 points, I think that is a pretty consistent with the quality of what’s being produced.

We’ve enjoyed working with this wine and we hope you enjoy it as well.