2020 Patrick Lesec Richette Cotes du Rhone

We didn’t arrive at Patrick Lesec’s place, just outside the village of Châteauneuf–du-Pape, by accident. 

We were told to go straight to his door by Richard Phoenix, buyer for Napa’s Angèle restaurant, the go-to venue for wine industry power-lunches. Richard had fallen hard for two Lesec wines and asked us if we could import a few pallets for him. So in the Rhône Valley, over plates of local sausages and smoked salmon, we tasted Patrick’s lineup—and the wine that won us over was the Richette Côtes-du-Rhône.

Originally from France, Patrick Lesec began his career as a restaurateur and wine merchant in the Santa Barbara area, where he made friends with several of the area’s most notable winemakers, including icons like Jim Clendenen and Richard Sanford. During sales calls and in their weekly tasting group, Patrick would often open a Grand Cru Burgundy or classified Bordeaux and they would compare notes. 

In 1993, seeking to find more of the kinds of wines his clientele coveted, and make wines like the ones that inspired him, Patrick returned to France and started a négociant firm. Over the years, he secured long-term contracts with some of the most revered terroirs in Châteauneuf–du-Pape—including La Crau, Valori, and Le Cristia—as well as in Gigondas and other Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages sites. In fact, on one of our visits, other producers admitted to being jealous of his vineyard sources!

The word “Burgundian” is overused, but it describes to a T the way Patrick approaches winemaking. Ripe but toned, balanced, and with beautiful terroir transparency, this is an aromatic and gratifying blend of declassified lots of single-vineyard and Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages level plots. 

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Acidity
• Tannin

• ABV 15.50%
• Enjoy right away
• Drink Up
• % Grenache% Syrah
• Serving temperature – 60°
• Cork