Pale ruby color; black cherry, sandalwood, blackberry on the nose; blackberry, black plum, cherry, strawberry, raspberry, tobacco on the palate.
Dry; rich, big flavor red and black fruits; gentle acidity and reserved tannins. Blend of 60% grenache, 20% mourvèdre, 20% tempranillo. Smooth, with some bite on the finish that softens with a bit of air in the glass. Simple and somewhat one dimensional, but tasty and entertaining red. Light-medium body. 14.1% ABV
Randy and Brooke Hester founded C.L. Butaud in Austin, TX in 2014. After learning winemaking working in Napa Valley, the husband-and-wife team wanted to create ultra-premium wines using grapes exclusively from Texas vineyards. Randy is the winemaker. He began his career as a 36-year-old intern at Cakebread Cellars and as a night student at Napa Valley College.
The website notes: “Hester credits his craft to the world class winemakers that he was fortunate enough to work with, including highly acclaimed winemakers such as Andy Erickson, Michel Rolland, Mike Hirby, and Helen Keplinger, at various distinguished producers including Colgin Cellars, Caldwell Vineyard, Realm Cellars, and Marciano Estate.”
The C. L. Butaud name honors Randy’s great grandfather, Clet Louis Butaud, known as “Frenchy”. Thus the name of this effort. The winery has been recognized as a top Texas winery by Texas Monthly, the Texas Department of Agriculture, Austin Monthly, Austin American Statesman, Houston Chronicle, Forbes. Its wines have been reviewed by Decanter, Wine Advocate, James Suckling, and VinePair, with inclusion in Vine Pair’s 50 Best Wines of 2021.
The best way to acquire this wine is through the winey’s website. There is distribution in Texas, but the winery chiefly depends on placement in restaurants, online, and its wine club. That is a standard, traditional arc of a winery’s distribution until it achieves production numbers and recognition for wider distribution by major players in our nation’s benighted three-tier system.
C. L. Butaud Pa Pa Frenchy Red Wine, Texas, 2021 enjoyable grenache-based Texas red that improves with time in glass. Plenty of red and black fruits with limited tannins and acidity. Simple, easy drinker. This is not spectacular red, but it is a very serviceable, enjoyable Texas blend that reaffirms Texas as a real player in the wine world. Texas is the number five winemaking state now, just barely ahead of Virginia—depends, of course, on who and how you are counting. But whatever. Texas has committed to wine and will be a significant, if minor, player from now on. Pair with rich beef; lamb; wild game—venison, feral hog; comfort foods for sure—barbecue, baby-back ribs, hamburgers and sliders, meat lover pizza. Cheese—emmental, colby jack, camembert, gruyere. $18-22
There are no online photos of the C.L. Butaud operation.