Search results for: 'romagna rhone'

42% Viognier, 18% Marsanne, 18% Roussanne, 12% Clairette, 10% Grenache Blanc

Vineyards:
White Hawk, Bien Nacido, La Presa, Last Frontier, Edna Ranch, Melange Du Rhone

Fermentation:
Barrel fermented on the lees with native yeast. Grenache Blanc Only - tank fermented without heavy lees

Elevage:
5 months in French Oak (7% New, 17% Second Fill, 76% Neutral)

Owner/winemaker Stephen Searle's 'day job' is as winemaker at Jaffurs but he gets to make a few cases on the side of some terrific Rhone-inspired wines. The Cuvee Amiliana is a 50/50 Grenache Blanc and Viognier blend from a biodynamic vineyard in Alisos Canyon.

99 Points! The 2022 Red Wine Life And Death is Grenache-dominated yet includes 22% Syrah, 13% each of Mourvèdre and Graciano, and 8.5% Petite Sirah, all of which was fermented with 25% whole clusters and brought up in 70% new oak. It offers a sensational perfume of black raspberry and black cherry fruits intermixed with camphor, lavender, white flowers, and peppery, almost garrigue-like nuances. With full-bodied richness, remarkable purity, and a massive, yet somehow elegant, seamless mouthfeel as well as incredible length, it's a masterpiece of a Rhône-like blend from California's Central Coast that could come from nowhere else. The fruit sourcing here is a mix of Bien Nacido, Stolpman, Alta Mesa, Sanger, and Rancho Boa Vista, and the marriage of richness, purity, and finesse is something to behold. This beauty will evolve for 15-20 years if well stored. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! The 2023 Red Wine is a fabulous Grenache/Syrah blend. Red-toned fruit, blood orange, dried herbs, lavender and mocha are all beautifully dialed up. Floral overtones add striking finesse and lift. What a gorgeous and vivid wine this is. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous

94 Points! The 2023 PharoahMoans Red Wine is a 50-50 blend of Carneros Grenache and Pope Valley Syrah, but despite omitting Mouvèdre, it is the best vintage of this wine this taster has sampled. Pretty florals—violets and roses—join tea-like, potpourri-ish nuances and berry fruit in this medium- to full-bodied wine. Lively, fresh and complex, the palate is framed by silky tannins and displays ample length on the finish. It's a super value, as long as you're not hung up on Bordeaux varieties or fancy mid-valley AVAs. - Joe Czerwinski, RobertParker.com

94 Points! This Rhone-style blend is unusual in Napa Valley and gives dark, earthy, savory flavors on a firm texture. Full-bodied, moderately tannic and restrained in fruit flavors, instead emphasizing singed herb, oak smoke, star anise and espresso flavors. A 50-50 blend of grenache and syrah grapes. Drink now or hold. - Jim Gordon, JamesSuckling.Com

Claire Ducrocq Weinkauf, a French native grew up in Auvergne; the land of Volcanoes and fabulous cheeses. Inspired by the power of a Mouton Rothschild, she earned a wine degree in Chile and then embarked for France to work harvest in St Emilion and the Côte du Rhône. While working in South America, she met Paul Hobbs and got a job first at Viña Cobos in Mendoza then in California. Her Claire de Lune Consulting focuses on helping fantastic producers including Matthiasson Wines, Anomaly Vineyards, Morlet Family Estate, Cowhorn Winery and more to grow their businesses. Claire lives in Calistoga with husband Aron Weinkauf-Winemaker at Spottswoode Winery and their two children.

From the winery:

Sourced from a steep ridge in the Alisos Canyon of Santa Ynez with an incredibly diverse terroir that's loaded with limestone and fossils. Planted to original budwood from Château de Beaucastel, we got advice from other producer friends of ours in Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Bandol who insisted that "Counoise is the grape of the future" for their Mediterranean climates. 

We fermented in whole bunches and were super happy with the results. The floral aromatics of Counoise were a perfect marriage with the mineral-rich terroir of Alisos Canyon. After aging it for ten months in neutral French oak barriques, we bottled it without fining or filtration.

This juicy red has the joy and freshness we love in Cru Beaujolais, the structure and chewiness we look for in old-styled producers of the Southern Rhône, and the tightrope elegance that brought us to Santa Ynez.

95 Points! The 2021 Big Easy is fabulous. In fact, this is one of the finest editions I have tasted of Fess Parker's Grange-inspired wine. Succulent red-toned fruit, mint, plum, rose petal and a kiss of new American oak build into the heady, sumptuous finish. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

47% Grenache, 38% Syrah, 15% Mourvedre

Vineyards:
Grenache: Alta Mesa, Derby, Spanish Springs, Old Potrero. Syrah: Old Potrero, White Hawk, Wolff. Mourvedre: Alta Mesa, Old Portrero,

Fermentation:
Fermented with native yeast - Grenache: 30% whole cluster, Syrah: 25% Stem inclusion, Mourvedre: 100% Destemmed

Elevage:
23 months in French oak - 4% New, 21% Second-fill, 75% Neutral

92+ Points! The 2021 Constant Variable is sweetly satisfying on the nose, blending crushed blackberries and wild blueberries with autumnal spice. It's silky in texture yet lifted in feel, with liquid violet flowers that coat the senses. Ripe red and black fruits cascade throughout. It takes on a spicy tinge through the finish, leaving gently grippy tannins and exotic spice. - Eric Guido, Vinous

93 Points! The 2021 Trespasser is more focused and inward, with darker fruits, graphite, candied violets, and chocolaty, subtle leafy herb-like nuances. It's a rich, full-bodied, concentrated red based on 38% Petite Sirah, 37% Syrah, and 25% Mourvèdre that spent 22 months in 50% new 300- and 400-liter puncheons. It will shine for 5-7 years, if not a decade. - Jeb Dunnuck

This Cali Rosé stole our hearts and palates, it literaly tastes like the label!

80% Grenache from Kopack vineyard. Picked for rosé. Straight to press & fermented with feral yeast in a stainless steel tank.

20% Mourvèdre: 50% whole cluster. Foot tread on day one by Rowdy in his mankini. No other punchdowns or pumpovers. Sat on the skins for 5 days until fermentation began, then he pressed it off and fermented it in a neutral puncheon.

94 Points! Always Syrah-dominated, the 2022 Avenger is based on 50% Syrah, 20% Carignan, 17% Grenache, 12% Petite Sirah, 1% Mourvèdre that was 75% destemmed and brought up in 20% new French and Hungarian oak. Ripe blackberries, flowery incense, pepper, and sandalwood notes all shine on the nose, and this beauty is medium to full-bodied, round, lush, and polished, with plenty of richness yet a weightless mouthfeel. Drink bottles through 2034. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! The 2022 Les Inseparables is based on 43% Grenache Blanc, 30% Roussanne, and the rest Viognier, from vineyards throughout California. Its medium gold hue is followed by a medium-bodied, elegant, yet richer wine from Cohn that has a gorgeous nose of ripe lemons, honeysuckle, toast, and white flowers. It brings some classic Cohn richness, but this stays pretty and elegant, with a terrific sense of freshness. It's going to shine on the dinner table for 2-3 years. - Jeb Dunnuck

97 Points! The 2020 Côte a Côte is a beautiful blend of 45% Grenache, 30% Syrah and 25% Mourvèdre and one of the most successful wines I tasted from the challenging 2020 vintage. Deep ruby-purple, it offers pure aromas of blackcurrant, boysenberry, tar and pipe tobacco, continually unfolding with each return to the glass. The full-bodied palate offers wave after wave of perfumed fruit and tremendous spicy accents. It's powerful yet harmoniously structured with powdery tannins and seamless acidity, and it offers a very long, detailed finish. - Erin Brooks, robertparker.com

93 Points! Another impressive and overperforming Dunites release is the 2024 Dune Song, a blend of 62% Syrah and 38% Grenache from Hi Kite and Rancho Arroyo Grande, respectively. A classic and lovely bouquet of black fruit, purple flowers and crushed stones introduces a palate that melds spongy density with tensile focus, culminating in a soaring, mouthwatering finish laced with streaks of minerality and spice-driven nuances. This is a uniquely refined and alluring expression of the San Luis Obispo Coast, to be enjoyed through its first decade. - Matthew Luczy, robertparker.com

96+ Points! No wimpy wine, the 2006 Bone Rock James Berry Vineyard (76% Syrah, 18% Mourvedre, and 6% Grenache) has over 16% alcohol. It possesses phenomenal texture, stunning purity, and remarkable freshness, which, again, is attributable to the limestone soils as well as the proprietor’s brilliant hands-off winemaking philosophy. A complex perfume of roasted meats, black fruits, spring flowers, charcoal, and spice is followed by a wine of enormous richness (yet it is neither overweight nor heavy). Beautiful freshness permeates the wine’s black fruit flavors and full-bodied power and length. The finish lasts for nearly a minute. This 2006 should evolve for 12-15+ years. - Robert Parker, robertparker.com

92 Points! A proprietary red blend of Petite Sirah, Grenache, Syrah, and Zinfandel aged eight months in 31% new oak. Orin Swift has opened a new, lovely tasting lounge in the town of St. Helena, CA and is worth a visit for those coming to the Napa Valley. Dave Phinney, the founder of Orin Swift, calls all the picks and continues working and honing these wines in the cellar. Rich black cherry, toffee, and caramel spices lead to a full-bodied wine with red berry fruit and chocolatey, robust, chewy tannins. The long fruit driven finish offers ample brown spices and toasty cedarwood. - Decanter Magazine

91 Points! Potent and dense, with brooding flavors of blackberry and cherry accented by bitter chocolate, cracked pepper and savory meat tones as this builds tannins on the finish. Grenache, Syrah and Petit Sirah. Best after 2025. - Wine Spectator

From the winery: Our second label wine, KEOLA is comprised of barrels and lots from the same vineyards that make up our top-tier Aaron cuvées. These barrels are declassified lots and extra barrels that simply don't find their way into our flagship wines, thus we blend them into KEOLA, our everyday drinking red that massively overdelivers for the price point. Juicy, vibrant and intensely aromatic, its a medium-bodied, absolutely delicious wine that goes with any place, any dish, and any time of day. Comprised mostly of Petite Sirah, Syrah, and Mourvèdre it's a rich and savory, with a blue/red fruit profile and notes of grilled meats and sage/underbrush. The palate is luscious and juicy, loaded with flavors of macerated cherries, cocoa powder, toasty oak, and licorice. Aged for 18 month is 100% French oak, 50% new, it's a wine that will certainly age in the cellar, but we recommend cracking it open now and enjoying it through the remainder of this year!